After General Washigton suffered numerous defeats and was forced to abandon New York, the brink of the revolution was on it's last breath. It was at this point that Thomas Paine coined these famous words in The Crisis. "THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated"
Outstanding, thanks for posting! I'm going to show it to my guests at our barbecue this afternoon. I see it's with the Air Force Band, which will tickle my husband, as he was the Band Commander while at Officer Training School.
General Washington deciding how to cross the Delaware also gave rise to a famous saying about freedom: ""Row versus Wade."
I'll celebrate in spirt with ya, coco. And when the whiskey gets cracked open, I'll toast one to your humor.
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the same day, July 4, 1826. Both were old men—Adams was 90, and Jefferson was 83—and both were ill, though Adams had been in comparatively robust health until just a few months earlier and Jefferson had been ill for an extended period.
My older brother had a cherry bomb go off just as he threw it. Bloody hand but no lasting damage. Those were the days!
One past 4th tradition that was common was anvil launching. It involved launching an anvil from ground using gunpowder. Suffice to say, it was a spectacle that attracted crowds. Subsequent Wile E Coyote innovations led to the decline of this tradition.
Somewhat related, I’m reading Choosing in Groups by Mike Munger and came across a neat note on the constitution: “In August of 1789, the French were wrestling with the problem of stating the basic rights all citizens had and that no one could legitimately take away. Their version of the freedom of religion, speech, and the press (from the "Declaration of the Rights of Man"26), passed August 26, 1789, looked like this: 10. No one is to be disquieted because of his opinions, even religious, provided their manifestation does not disturb the bublic order established by law. 11. Free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Consequently, every citizen may speak, write, and print freely subject to responsibility for the abuse of such liberty in the cases determined by law. … The U.S. House of Representatives passed an alternative just four days earlier, on August 22, 1789. Due to distances and delays in communication, a conference committee revised and finalized the U.S. version on September 25, 1789. The U.S. version of the fundamental right is the First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. That is an explicit protection against the majority. France said ‘Don't break the law,’ but the U.S. said ‘Don't make the law.’”
New America F-yeah video https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=dXBoaHlWZDFPVWlKZ28tSEk3SDdIWHFFR1M1MVN3
