We should remember
It's hot. In fact, it's more than hot... it's sweltering. Yet,
despite the heat and the generally somber mood of the country, there
will be 4th of July celebrations all across this country. It will be a
day of flag waving, barbeques, family gatherings, street parades, and
picnic lunches. Each of them will commemorate the founding of this
country, and each will remember the sacrifice of those brave patriots
and every solder that has come after them who has fought for liberty and
freedom.
However, ten years before America actually declared her independence,
revolution had begun. And that revolution began under a 100-year-old elm
tree in Boston, when on September 10, 1765, a copper plate with large
gold letters was hung in its branches, declaring the tree "The Tree of
Liberty."
To understand the inscription, we need to realize what was happening at
the time. The British had accumulated a massive war debt during the
French and Indian War and they needed a way to pay it off. Much like
today, the first and most obvious means of raising revenue was through a
tax. And on March 22, 1765, the Stamp Act was passed by the British
Parliament.
This tax had an effect the British were not expecting... it
enraged the colonists like no other tax had up to that point.
You see, the Stamp Act required a tax be paid on ALL documents: legal
documents, permits, commercial contracts, newspapers, pamphlets, and
even playing cards! The colonists viewed the tax not only as an onerous
financial burden, but as a form of censorship since it would limit the
colonists' ability to read and write freely.
The colonists' anger would not be abated, and one hot summer day, August
14th, 1765, a crowd gathered around this large elm tree in Boston to
protest this onerous tax. In the tree they hung an effigy of Andrew
Oliver, the man charged with collecting the Stamp Tax. There was also a
British cavalry jackboot hanging from the branches. An imp-like devil
poked its head out of the boot. In its hands was a scroll that said
"Stamp Tax."
This was the first blatant act of defiance against the British Empire.
This is why the great elm tree became known as "The Tree of Liberty."
And this was just the beginning! As 1766 rolled around, the
tree became a rallying point for the Sons of Liberty, men who were to
become the leaders and champions of the forthcoming American Revolution.
Even after the Stamp Act was repealed, the revolutionary movement
continued to gather steam. And with the siege of Boston, the first phase
of the American Revolution began. British Loyalists cut down the Tree of
Liberty in a spiteful act of retaliation against the liberty-minded
colonists. But the memories and values that tree represented continued
to live on in the hearts of the colonists. Soon flags began to appear
with the Liberty Tree image emblazoned on them and were flown during
many battles during the Revolutionary War.
And yet, for all that the Liberty Tree stood for, few Americans today
know about this important chapter in American history. We have lost our
way... we have forgotten where we came from. Our national memory of
these events have been all but left in the dustbin of history. Children
today can't even tell us who the Founding Fathers were. They can't tell
us why this great experiment in liberty was even begun. And they don't
understand the basis of what Americans have inherently believed through
the years and why. Perhaps this is why Thomas Jefferson cautioned:
Yes, we did produce a near perfect Republic, but will they keep it? Or
will they in their enjoyment of plenty, lose the memory of their
freedom? Material abundance without character is the surest way
to destruction. I tremble for my country when I realize that God is
just.
Look around you. What we have today is exactly what Jefferson described:
"Material abundance without character." And that lack of character
brings us lack of morals and integrity in the political process, with
elected officials who are more worried about the money they can squirrel
away in their freezers and 401Ks and offshore accounts than the business
of the American people. We live in a time when avarice and illusions of
power compel men and women to enslave their constituents in onerous tax
burdens and to deprive them of their inherent rights under God.
We need to remember. We need to remember how our liberty was won.
We need to remember the virtues of faith, love, and self-discipline. We
need to remember the values and morals that made this country great
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