The Fourth of July, the birth of this Great Nation; it seems fitting to remember...

4TH OF JULY 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.

What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.

 Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his Ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and Properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward. Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

 Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

 John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.

 Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: freedom is never free!

It's time we get the word out that "true" patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and baseball games. "

I might add to this, that the fight for freedom starts within us, for our own sovereignty, for our own awareness of our actions and repercussions. Freedom, as well as peace of mind begins with how we treat ourselves, honoring ourselves, and extending that honor out to others, desiring that all can celebrate and enjoy that freedom.

I believe that RIGHT NOW, we are all being called to act, for our citizen freedoms are taken away, and more being gone everyday. We cannot leave the work to others to do for us, for we are powerful beings, and when we gather together, that is multiplied and people sit up and listen, for they have too.

RIGHT NOW, day after day we are reading about people NOW that are being killed, hounded, jailed without trials, without representation, disappearing off the scene.

RIGHT NOW, there are people putting their lives and families at risk to let us all know what is going on in governments that can enslave us, and kill us, including our own government. Are WE going to sit by and let slip away the freedoms and rights those true patriots fought so hard for us to have?

People seem to shrug their shoulders and say "but what can I do"? That is the desired effect that is wanted, a sense of powerlessness. That has been promoted so that people will just sit back and let it happen to them, that is what the many Jews did during the holocaust, not being able to comprehend what atrocities are in the minds of men.

What we can do.....

1. Find out what is going on, be informed! Share with others, through e.mails, world of mouth, letters, to friends, congressmen, representatives, sentators, to the world. Let as many know the truth as you can. Yes, there are many who won't believe you and think you are "unpatriotic" or crazy........but stop and think, how much do you value your freedoms for yourself and your families, for generations to come, how much are you willing to sacrifice?

2. Show love and peaceful actions to all you meet, not just family and friends, but to everyone. Find peaceful solutions. Pray, meditate if that is your mode. Find that love energy that is within all of us, extend out to all. We are on this planet together, the only one we have.

3. Show respect for mother earth in your own actions, what do you buy, what do you dispose of, what kind of products are you putting into your body, and into the earth.

4. There are many who would rather deny all that is going on and hide their heads seeing themselves as small, but one person can make a difference.