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July 04, 2009
Quotable Saturday, Declarative Edition
"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."
-The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
Posted by adrienne at July 4, 2009 11:23 AM
Comments
Huzzah!
Posted by: chuck at July 5, 2009 02:36 AM
We pledge to each other. How often we forget that bit.
Posted by: tanita at July 5, 2009 08:55 AM
I know--people always quote the beginning of the Declaration, and, truly, the document is like:
1. Inspiriting Beginning
2. Lengthy Laundry List of Exactly Why We're Pissed Off (Almost to the point where you're like, sheesh, did the king also forget to put the cap back on the toothpaste? Because I HATE that.)
3. This Extraordinary Sentence at the End that's Pretty Easy to Miss Right Before the Signatures
But I guess this is our big contradiction as a country. We value individuals being able to do that whole life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness thing--but, in the end, it doesn't work if we aren't committed to each other and to sacrificing to ensure a certain level of protection and common good. A house divided cannot stand and all that. I know that as a country we've done some really astonishingly crappy things, but the core structure of the philosophy in our founding documents is equally astonishingly beautiful. It's also hard to attain and maintain.
Posted by: adrienne at July 5, 2009 09:54 AM