CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
"Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women: when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it.
But while it lives there it needs no constitution, no law, or any court to save it."
Judge Learned Hand, May 21, 1944
This week, as a nation, we remember and celebrate our independence. Independence from England was born out of the American Revolution. Revolution is often the matrix out of which independence comes forth. It is born with birthmarks, marks of struggle, sacrifice, courage and determination. This year marks the 232nd anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. There are some things about that historic moment worth remembering.
When the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia on July 2, 1776, and voted to declare independence, five men led by Thomas Jefferson drafted and produced the document we now know as the Declaration of Independence. Two days later, on July 4, 52 delegates from the colonies signed it. Today you can see it in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.
But never let it be forgotten that 52 men declaring liberty and signing their names to a document did not make them free nor a nation independent. Even as they were meeting, freedom was being forged out of flesh and blood on the battlefields. The war for independence had officially begun a year earlier at the Battle of Lexington; it was July 4th that marked the point of no return. Major battles like Valley Forge, Saratoga and Yorktown were yet to be won. And the biggest obstacle for the colonists would not be the British, but themselves.
The Declaration of Independence gave birth to the name United States of America, but as yet they were united only on paper by ink. There was little interest in the colonies providing Soldiers to Washington's Continental Army until the fighting came to their own turf. As much as they wanted freedom from England, many of them wanted it from each other, too. It would take more than declarations in writing to bring them together as free people ... it would take commitment to a common cause. The history of our independence is written as much in blood as it is in ink.
In December 1778, British Gen. Charles Cornwallis brought the war to the southern colonies by capturing Savannah, Ga. Seventeen months later, in May 1780, he took Charleston, S.C. He then moved north to Yorktown and dug in there. Yorktown would prove to be the final battle, with General Cornwallis surrendering there to Washington on October 19, 1781. The war was done.
Independence was achieved five-and-a-half years after having been declared. You see, simply declaring yourself to be free doesn't make it so. Those few years were costly to the colonists. Let freedom ring is no cheap tune. Our own war of independence was longer than what we have yet been in Iraq. Make no mistake, the war in Iraq is a war of independence. It's not as brief, as economical or as clean as many would like it.
Who better to understand this than those who wear the battle dress uniforms of a nation? Who better to understand than the families who stand beside men and women in uniform? The men and women who take up arms and step forward to be peacekeepers for others are all heroes. Seeking peace is never wrong. The alternative is to settle, ultimately, for bondage. And that can never be right.
Let's talk about Iraq. Where does it all end? Whenever it is, we dare not permit it to end here or now. What is being asked of those in the military is a stronger, more steadfast resolve to pursue peace at all costs because we have paid too much to turn away now. And if we turn away now, how can we ever turn and face those who have given the most? What would we say to them?
Freedom, whether ours or someone else's, is never easy. If we are content simply to find our own peace and let the world go hang, we don't deserve it. One of my mentors used to say, "There are two kinds of people in this world: those who are just trying to make a better place for themselves in the world as it is, and those who are trying to make the world a better place for everyone." Those who wear the uniform are numbered among the later. With a strong sense of determination, let's continue striving to let freedom ring for others.