April 19 - Birth of Our Nation
At first I was a little upset, but it put a lot of it in perspective having spent April 19th in a third world nation on the other side of the planet.
In 1775, British General Gage, with ships in the Boston Harbor, was betrayed by his wife, who told Dr. Joseph Warren that British regulars would be moving in on Lexington and Concord to collect arms from rebels.
Through organization and dedication, thousands of colonists turned out to combat the 700 British soldiers, pushing them all the way back to their Boston ships after the Shot Heard Round the world in Lexington.
Though many people think of July 4, 1776 as the birth of our nation, it really began 14 months earlier. Though people think of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington as the fathers of the US, few realize that John Hancock played a much larger role than just being the first to sign the Declaration of Independence. Few know that Sam Adams is more than a beer, but was probably the most influential cause of the idea of our new nation ever coming into existence. Much less the assistance from men like Billy Dawes, Samuel Prescott, Israel Bissel, and many others whose names never set foot into history books.
Though 4 days later, I hope some of you can think about the efforts and sacrifices that went into creating our country. Remember the ideas and motivations behind its creation, and realize that these were regular men....men who failed in most other aspects of their lives and rose up to get behind something they believed in.
