Pete's Log: Log Entry 339

Entry #339, (Politics)
(posted when I was 21 years old.)

watched some of the libertarian national convention live on c-span today. was neat. yay libertarians! the presidential debate between the four libertarian candidates was fun to watch, they were all actually nice to each other, the debates between republican or democratic candidates all seem to be full of animosity... i received the following email from oma and papa which seemed appropriate both to the libertarian deal and the upcoming fourth of july:

REMEMBERING INDEPENDENCE DAY                                                    
                                                                                
Have you ever wondered what happened to                                         
the 56 men who                                                                  
signed the Declaration of Independence?                                         
                                                                                
Five signers were captured by the                                               
British as traitors, and tortured                                               
  before they died.                                                             
                                                                                
Twelve had their homes ransacked and                                            
burned.                                                                         
                                                                                
Two lost their sons serving in the                                              
Revolutionary Army; another had two                                             
sons captured.                                                                  
                                                                                
Nine of the 56 fought and died from                                             
wounds or hardships of                                                          
the Revolutionary War.                                                          
                                                                                
They signed and they pledged their                                              
lives, their fortunes,                                                          
and their sacred honor.                                                         
                                                                                
What kind of men were they?          

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.                                           
Eleven were merchants,                                                          
                                                                                
nine were farmers and large plantation                                          
owners; men of means, well                                                      
educated. But                                                                   
they signed the Declaration of                                                  
Independence knowing full well that the                                         
penalty would be death if they were                                             
captured.                                                                       
                                                                                
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy                                           
planter and trader,                                                             
                                                                                
saw his ships swept from the seas by the                                        
British Navy. He sold his home                                                  
and properties to pay his debts, and                                            
died in rags.                                                                   
                                                                                
Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the                                             
British that he was                                                             
forced to move his family almost                                                
constantly. He served in the Congress                                           
without pay, and his family was kept in                                         
hiding. His possessions were                                                    
  taken from him, and poverty was his                                           
reward. 

Vandals or soldiers looted the                                                  
properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer,                                            
Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge,                                           
and Middleton.                                                                  
                                                                                
At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson                                        
Jr, noted that the                                                              
                                                                                
British General Cornwallis had taken                                            
over the Nelson home for his                                                    
headquarters. He quietly urged General                                          
George Washington to open fire.                                                 
The home was destroyed, and Nelson died                                         
bankrupt.                                                                       
                                                                                
Francis Lewis had his home and                                                  
properties destroyed. The enemy jailed                                          
his wife, and she died within a few                                             
months.                                                                         
                                                                                
John Hart was driven from his wife's                                            
bedside as she was                                                              
                                                                                
dying. Their 13 children fled for their                                         
lives. His fields and his gristmill                                             
were laid to waste. For more than a year                                        
he lived in forests and caves,                                                  
returning home to find his wife dead and                                        
his children vanished. A few                                                    
weeks later he  died from exhaustion and                                        
a broken heart.                   

Norris and Livingston suffered similar                                          
fates.                                                                          
                                                                                
Such were the stories and sacrifices of                                         
the American                                                                    
                                                                                
Revolution. These were not wild-eyed,                                           
rabble-rousing ruffians. They were                                              
soft-spoken men of means and education.                                         
They had security, but they   valued                                            
liberty more. Standing tall, straight,                                          
and unwavering, they pledged: "For                                              
the support of this declaration, with                                           
firm reliance on the protection of the                                          
divine                                                                          
providence, we mutually pledge to each                                          
other, our lives, our fortunes,                                                 
and our                                                                         
sacred honor." They gave you and me a                                           
free and independent America. The                                               
history books never told you a lot about                                        
what happened in the                                                            
Revolutionary War. We                                                           
didn't fight just the British. We were                                          
British subjects at that time and                                               
we fougnt our own government! Some of us                                        
take these liberties so much for                                                
granted, but we shouldn't.   

So,take a few minutes while enjoying                                            
your 4th of July holiday and  silently                                          
thank these patriots. It's not much to                                          
ask for the price they paid.                                                    
                                                                                
Remember: freedom is never free!                                                
                                                                                


sandy fails and her family joined us for dinner... we had chinese food. i made more egg rolls and won tons. they turned out even better than the previous batch... we then watched sound of music, i stuck around with nothing better to do. the movie has its moments. at one moment some character, i think captain van trapp, said "you were right" and i couldn't help but think "tell your sister, you were right"