A Soldier's Prayer

[jphespe]

Just received this from a friend and can't think of a better message for the Fourth of July.

FREEDOM IS DEFINITELY NOT FREE

If you like this share it.

Have a great Holiday

http://www.youtube.com/embed/rKsW6c_CgF ... detailpage

[Webb]

The Great Communicator

[Hawkeye07]

I can't say I agree with everything President Reagan did as our president or as the Governor of California BUT I wholeheartedly agree with the content of his speech in this video. Definitely a 5 star speech!

[Webb]

Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

[Hawkeye07]

I don't think the poster in the reply above quite fits a topic entitled "A Soldiers Prayer" especially considering that the (enlisted) oath of enlistment in the U.S. Armed Forces reads as follows:
I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

As for "earning our independence" it seems that some of our Forefathers earned it more than others. A book I'm reading right now, for the second time, "Patriot Battles" by Michael Stephenson states 1/3 of the colonists supported Independence while another 1/3 wanted to remain loyal British subjects. The remainder of the colonists sat on the fence waiting to see who would win. This book is quite enlightening and disects and dispels many of the myths of the Revolution that have been assumed as facts simply by their repetition over he years. Another book I have entitled "Tories" by Thomas B. Allan confirms the ratio stated above.

During the War of Independence just as today and in all the wars in between, the battles were fought by the lower classes (lower middle class and the poor) while the rich reaped the greatest benefit. Politicians haven't changed either. Let them get involve in something and they will invariably mire it in bureaucracy and pat themselves on the back for being such great leaders. And many merchants gouged prices and delivered substandard supplies. As we used to say in the Navy "S.S.D.D. - Same Sh*t, Different Day."

[Hawkeye07]

I just want to clarify something in my last post. The authors Stephenson and Allen are NOT part of this ridiculous new age "Revisionist" History. In fact they shoot down a lot of the supposed "facts" written by many revisionists. Another reason I like these books so much, these authors tell it like it is (was) and back up their statements with proof, not half truths or partial quotes. May I suggest these books as "must reads" for anyone who is interested in how the USA came to be, in spite of it's self. Another good book is "Fusiliers" by Mark Urban. As the title suggests it's a book written from the viewpoint of the British 23rd Regiment during the American Revolution. I like to hear both sides of an argument.

HAWK