Miracles happen: Cherish the sacrifices of 1776

It is sometimes easy to lose sight of the events of 1776 and the sacrifices made by those who birthed a nation.

We can recall many of the phrases of the Declaration of Independence, including those at the very end of the 1,300-word document. The signers of the declaration took enormous risks. To use two modern clichés they might have found puzzling, they laid it all on the line, and they had to know that each had the other’s back. Their phrase that we remember is that “we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.”

It worked. They persevered, they fought a long war, they kept the faith, and they defeated the mightiest empire on Earth. Had things gone the other way, they’d have been hanged and forgotten.

Today we enjoy the beginning of a holiday weekend. We’ll eat, go to a parade, watch fireworks. Will we take a moment to remember their dreams and ideals? Will we marvel at their struggle and at the subsequent “miracle at Philadelphia” that gave us a constitution we still use and cherish? Will we note that times are tough – but that we’ve been through far worse? That we’re at war – but have survived and won in worse wars? Will we remember that freedom is fragile and requires, in Jefferson’s phrase, “eternal vigilance?” Will we think of new ways to advance and expand the American dream?