The Mighty Viking

The story is told of two signers of the Declaration of Independence – Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.  Both were Presidents of the United States, and while they differed politically through much of their lives, they reconciled in later years and became dear friends. They died on the exact same day July 4th, 1826, 5 hours apart. Adams last words were,” Thomas Jefferson still survives”.  He was mistaken- Jefferson had actually died 5 hours earlier.  Nonetheless, their deaths occurred on the 50th anniversary of the signing, which signaled the beginning of the nation.

Something happened on that day in 1776 – something Big. Something revolutionary.  

Something sacred was brought to the human experience.

The birth of this nation was ushered in by a few brave men with a vision of a government founded on freedom.  Their vision was not of a nation that could do great things with the communal efforts of its citizens.  It was of a nation great because of its space and construct – conducive to the greatness its citizens could generate in their own way, answering the need they saw around them.

The ink of the Declaration of Independence drew an inspired boundary around what is right and proper to the human experience.  It illuminated the parchment upon which a structure for human co-existence could thrive – if followed.

To this day, two forces assail those borders: Personal Greed, and “The Public Good”.  Each is a perversion of an ideal; self-sufficiency, and care of our fellow man.  Each is a lie disguised as the regalia of the Powerful, and  the Righteous.

Some say it is our sacred duty to ease the suffering of our fellow humans as we find it.  Others  say  it is our duty to take care of ourselves so that we stand ready when the opportunity to serve others presents itself.  These are right and proper in their proper setting perhaps, but when each is isolated from the other, our ability to choose our purpose is undermined as the balance of power falls under the sway of others.  The purpose of the Declaration of Independence was to claim for its future citizens freedom of the heart to choose what is right as we see it, not chains of control to force us to do what others think is right.

In the swirling, muddy sea of intrigue bestirred by Evil to hide from us this sacred place, our Declaration continues to shine – through both its success, and in the failures when it is bypassed, undermined, and subverted.

On this annual celebration we hold, it would do each of us good to reflect first on this remarkable scripture, and then rejoice, each in his own way, the implemented principles it brought about.  It is only by refreshing our understanding and commitment to Freedom that we can arise the next day with a clear mind for what it is we fight.