On The Precipice Of History

Hello America,

You know me…you know the drill. It’s the 4th of July, so of course you can expect a special email from old Glenn, one where I quote Thomas Jefferson and maybe make fun of myself for eating my weight in hot dogs. Not this year. It’s true—for me, July 4th is much more than just a day for backyard barbeques and firework displays, and I know it’s the same for you. We celebrate and cherish America’s independence all the time—we don’t need a special occasion to fly the flag or honor those who serve. So this year, I want to simply wish you and your family a happy 4th of July and leave you with one idea to think about.

Most of us think of the 4th of July as the day when we declared our independence from England and began building the greatest nation the world has ever known. And while it’s true, that notion feels very much like the end of something…British rule, oppression, being subjects to a king instead of to one another. But when you stop and think about it, the 4th of July wasn’t an ending at all—it was just the beginning.

While we declared our Independence on July 4th, 1776, we had to keep fighting to defend that declaration until 1783, over seven years of bloody struggle and ultimate sacrifice. And while those who fought in the Revolutionary War knew what they were dying to protect, “we the people” didn’t adopt our Constitution until 1787, more than 11 years after those 56 men gathered in a room and signed their name to a piece of parchment that said there’s a better way for men and women to live:

In freedom.

The second sentence of the Declaration of Independence reads:
     We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

The fight to live up to those 36 words continues to this day, as an ever expanding government is threatening to suppress the very freedoms our founders fought for. And while July 4th, 1776 was a major victory, let the date serve not merely as a day to remember how it all started - but also that freedom is fragile and vigilance is needed to preserve and protect it. Each and every one of us is responsible to make sure that freedom doesn't vanish on our watch. This 4th of July, think about what the founders risked to make sure they and future generations lived free - their lives, the fortunes, and their sacred honor. And ask yourself, are you willing to do the same?

God bless you, your family, and the United States of America - Glenn Beck

What The Founders Lost

Francis Lewis - Less than two months after signing the Declaration of Independence his home was plundered and burned, and his wife was imprisoned and treated with brutality. She was eventually part of a prisoner exchange, but she had suffered so severely at the hands of the British that she never recovered and died within two years.

William Floyd - His extensive woodlands were plundered until they were "despoiled of almost every thing but the naked soil." He and his family were exiled from their home for 7 years, and had no income from his property for that period of time.

Philip Livingston - All his business interests and his mansion fell to the enemy. He and his family fled their home, and he sold some remaining property to help fund the Revolution. He died in 1778, ever having been able to return home.

Lewis Morris - Lost 1000 acres and herds of livestock. Exiled from his home, also for 7 years.

John Hart - While his wife lay on her deathbed, the enemy arrived at his residence and destroyed his mills and farmland. He was sixty-five, and fled through the forest - living in caves, and anywhere else he could find shelter. By the time he could return home, his wife had died and his thirteen children were scattered.

Abraham Clark - His two sons were captured and confined to a prison ship.  He rejected an offer by the enemy to free his sons in return for his denouncement of "the cause" in favor of King and Parliament.

This is just a sampling. The list goes on and on. So as Glenn asked above, are you willing to do the same? Does the ideal of Liberty mean enough to you? Does Freedom mean enough to you? Or, is it because we have known nothing but "freedom" (or at least what passes for it these days), that we now take it for granted and can not fathom the horror that life would be without it? Are we on a "precipice of history", and about to find out what it will be like? Or are we one a different "precipice of history", looking into the eyes of a second revolution? Or perhaps, we're on a third "precipice of history", about to enter a living hell - no food, no money, famine, plagues, crime, lawlessness. It's all happened before in history, so what path will we find ourselves on in 20 years?

If You Aren't Afraid And Outraged, You Aren't Paying Attention!