Several years ago, in one of our large Eastern states the legislature was about to meet. As usual, the speaker of the house had the task of choosing legislative messengers. These young boys and girls have the job of carrying letters and papers from one desk to another, from one office to another. A dozen young people applied. The speaker asked their names and inquired about their schooling, in order to make the best choice. In the course of his examination, he came to a small fellow about ten years old, rather bright-looking.
“Well, young man,” said Mr. Patterson, “what is your name?” “John Hancock,” answered the boy.
“John Hancock?” echoed the speaker. “You are not the John Hancock who signed the Declaration of Independence, are you?”
The boy straightened his shoulders and stretched to his full height as he declared:
“No, sir, but I would have signed it if I had been there.” “You can be one of the messengers,” said the speaker.
I wonder how many of us would have signed the Declaration of Independence if we had been there. I wonder how many of us would have had the courage to risk everything we possessed-family, property, and even life itself-in order to be free and independent. I wonder how many of us would have made the sacrifices demanded of those brave men who on July 4, 1776, told the powerful but unjust king of England that they intended to be his subjects no longer.
On July 4, we recall and celebrate the birthday of our beloved country. We honor the men who dared, at the risk of death, to declare that now the United States was independent of British rule.
The ways in which we celebrate this fact are rather weird. Some nit-witswill be shooting firecrackers at midnight. Some quarter-wits will be blasting cannon crackers at five in the morning. Such citizens seem to have an idiotic
idea of what July 4 means. Yes, we should celebrate this day with picnics and races, outings, and golf and what have you. But let us be intelligent about it. Let us be thoughtful, at least for a moment.
The Declaration of Independence is a religious document, in the sense that it was conceived and drawn up by godly men in a godly strain. In the very first sentence, God is mentioned. The second paragraph goes on to speak of God in those words we all learned, or should have learned, in school:
‘We hold these truths to be self-evident,… That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Listen also to the concluding sentence:
“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
We honor the men who drew up that daring document. We honor the men who signed it. And we honor the men who backed them up on the battlefield, making good their determination to be free or to die.
It is a privilege to be an American. It is also a responsibility. We are proud of our country’s achievements, of her place in the sun. We revel in her riches, her busy cities, her fruitful farmlands. Nowhere in the world is there so much comfort and convenience, so little suffering, so many generous hearts. Just as we are proud of all these American qualities, so each one of us is bound to do his best to continue these American virtues.
It is customary to bring gifts on a loved one’s birthday. We do love our country, don’t we? What gifts can we bring her today, our nation’s birthday? What gifts are fitting, one might ask? Not money. America has an ample supply of that. Not power. She is the most powerful nation in the world. Not honor. All the nations of the world honor the Stars and Stripes and what they stand for. Not glory. That glory is written on every page of her history.
What gift then can we make to our country? Give her your loyalty, your love, your service. Dedicate yourself to obey the Constitution and laws of the land. Pledge yourself to support our public officials, from the president down to the last town marshal. Beloved America, we offer these gifts to you today.
On July 4, we Declare our Independence. Thank God, our forefathers won freedom for us. But we still need to declare ourselves independent of selfishness, independent of unkindness, independent of injustice, independent of the neglect of God, independent of thoughtlessness about the meaning and importance of what took place July 4, 1776.