HAPPY JULY 5TH !!!

Oh, I know what you are saying, "Smith, you made a typo, you meant Happy July 4th." No I didn't. On July 4th, 1776 our forefathers stuck their middle finger in the face of the most powerful sovereign in the world and said "EAT ME." July 4th was filled with flowery language and fireworks, July 5th was when the real work began and it was a long day, lasting until September 3, 1783.

Our liberty loving founding fathers pledged their "lives, fortunes and sacred honor" for a set of principles and ideals, that sadly we have forgotten in modern day America. Of the 56 signers of the Declaration, 5 were captured by the British and tortured before they died. 9 died from wounds and other hardships suffered during the War. 12 had their homes ransacked and burned. 2 lost their sons in battle. Many had their homes looted by the Redcoats. Here in Virginia, Carter Braxton's merchant ships were captured and seized by the British Navy, he died penniless.

At Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr.'s home was commandeered by Cornwallis and his staff. Nelson quietly urged Washington to open fire, his family's home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt. Right here at the end of Wilton Road, along the banks of the James River in Richmond, many of the homes in my neighborhood are purported to be haunted, due to local militia skirmishes with British raiders who burned Richmond in 1781. The City could have been saved, but the Virginians refused to negotiate with Benedict Arnold, a traitor.

What is striking about these "revolutionaries" is they sacrificed everything over what today appear minor or even trivial deprivations of liberty compared to the burdenous yoke that modern day Washington has shackled the individual citizen. The Tea Act of 1773 was not a new tax, it actually lowered the price of tea in the colonies. The Tea Act was designed to prop up the faltering East India Company, giving it a monopoly status in America. You see, the East India Company was "TOO BIG TO FAIL." The stockholders, who had acumulated vast wealth and sprawling estates through their political connections had a permanent lobby in Westminster. Does this sound eerily familiar with the way modern Washington works?
Our Founding Fathers made no dictates or demands on their own government, they simply said "leave us alone." Let us engage in voluntary transactions and run our lives as we see fit without having to kiss the ring of petty bureaucrats sent to us from London.

Friends, a violent tempest may yet be brewing. Let us remember the sacrifices of our forebearers, as well as those words emblazoned on the great Seal of Virginia:

Sic Semper Tyrannis.