250 years ago today, on the commons in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, militia of the Massachusetts Colony engaged with British Redcoats sent from Boston to seize the guns and ammunition in the local storehouses. Their actions began the American Revolution, turning it from a rhetorical and diplomatic problem into a shooting war....
While its' causes were many, ultimately what the colonists wanted was freedom and representation in the halls of Westminster, believing that if the Crown was to rule over them, they should have the right of representation in Parliament; otherwise, why remain a part of the British Empire?
Now, their struggle was perilous; had the rebels lost, odds are most of them would've either executed for treason there in the Colonies or dragged back to England and tried for treason there. No wonder John Hancock, Speaker of the Continental Congress, signed his name as he did...after all, he wanted King George III to see his signature (along w/those of the other Signers of the Declaration of Independence).
Samuel Adams asks a valid question: why would Americans risk their lives for freedom and liberty? Should we be free men or slaves?
It is a question every American generation asks; Ronald Reagan once said (paraphrasing) "Freedom is but one generation away from extinction." It isn't something passed down from generation to generation like a bloodline, it is something to be cherished, claimed and fought for, at the ballot box, on the soap box and in the jury box. And every generation, we as Americans must ask the same question each and every generation.
It is but the least we can do as Americans.
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