War: Necessary?
“… God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty…. And what country can preserve its liberties, if it’s rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.”
Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334 (C.J. Boyd, Ed., 1950)
War is a touchy subject and can spark an argument in a heart beat. I believe as Thomas Jefferson believed that war is necessary from time to time. Don’t get me wrong I don’t believe war is a great thing, but I do support it and I would fight for this country. America was been granted freedom by death and war. People in this country can so easily say that they would not fight for this country and won’t support our troops. What would the founding fathers think of us today? Many of our founding fathers gave up there lives to make this country what it is today.
Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?
Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
These men gave up everything so that the United Sates would have a future, and I believe that a lot of Americans have lost site of that. Thomas Jefferson also once said, that “Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God”. This idea comes from the old testament, when the Hebrews overthrew tyrants and also when Christians were over powered by the Roman Empire. I believe God wants man to be active and free not passive and enslaved.
