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
My father is probably the man responsible for helping me appreciate the above quote. As a great fan of the founding fathers of our country, he explained to me how much they were putting on the line. These were men of privilage. They could have gone on to live comfortable lives, but instead, they risked it all for the dream of freedom.
On the other hand, I don't think I really got it until recently. Its hard to go back in time 200 years and imagine what that was like. Its too abstract. There are no pictures of it happening. Until January of 2005.
I don't want to violate APs Andrew Parson's copyright, but I want to link to his photo, here.
This year, Iraq's citizens proved the pesimists wrong. They went out and risked their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honour on the road to freedom.
Its difficult for me to comprehend the shift in mindset of these brave people. Up until recently, they lived in constant fear of a brutal regime who would torture people who were suspected of speaking against the ruling party. And I'm not talking about "Gitmo torture." I'm talking about having your ears, arm, or tongue cut off, electric shocks to the genitals, and/or having your daughter raped in front of you. This is the type of torture that you can't believe existed, until you see the photos of those who are missing ears and hear them tell their stories through tears.
Yet, in the face of terrorists who threatened to behead anyone who voted, the Iraqi people did.
In our country, a good vote turnout is 40% of the populace.
In Iraq, their turnout was between 60% to 70%.
Some people complain that we need to get out of Iraq. To those people, I ask why our own soldiers who are in Iraq are so committed to this cause. When polled, the vast majority of those men and women in service to our country support giving Iraqis a chance at freedom.
Our own brave soldiers are risking their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honour to help Iraq become a country free of tyranny.
That is nobility.
That is a higher calling then our own selfish interests.
Its something to be damn proud of.
On this July 4th, I celebrate the freedom to sit here comfortably on a nice chair, in front of my nice computer, and spout my opinion to the world on a network for speech, that was originally a network for the department of defense.
I celebrate the people who are thousands of miles away; wearing my countries colors, with sand in their food and a 110 degree temperature in the daytime, 90 degrees at night. Despite the random bombs and mortars, criticism and pessimism, those men and woman say that we need to finish the job. I celebrate their honour.
Finally, I celebrate the Iraqi people. I sincerely hope that someday soon, they celebrate their own version of the 4th of July. I hope to see them dancing in the streets again, as I did when they voted, dancing to the tune of freedom.
Let freedom ring.
Let freedom ring.
-John
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