The Defiant ones

Over two hundred years ago, Thomas Jefferson penned these words:



"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."



With those courageous words, 57 Americans signed the greatest human political document ever written, the Declaration of Independence. Several of these men lost most every possession they had in the course of the war.

Francis Lewis experienced the destruction of all his property, as did Lewis Morris , William Floyd, Lyman Hall (who was charged with treason), Arthur Middleton (who was imprisoned by the British), and John Hart.

Several others were also arrested by the British: Thomas Heyward, Jr. and Richard Stockton.

All of these put their intergity and safety on the line by affixing their signatures to the dotted line.



Yesterday, a similiar situation took place in Iraq:



"BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqis embraced democracy in large numbers Sunday, standing in long lines to vote in defiance of mortar attacks, suicide bombers and boycott calls. Pushed in wheelchairs or carts if they couldn't walk, the elderly, the young and women in veils cast ballots in Iraq's first free election in a half-century."



Every American ought to rejoice. Yesterday was a victory for Pres. Bush. Yesterday was a victory for our military. Most important, yesterday was a tremendous victory for the Iraqi people. They are the ones who defied the bullets and bombs in order to vote. They are the ones who would not be cajoled into submission. They are the ones who counted the opportunity for freedom more valuable than the possiblility of death. They are the heroes. They are the patriots. No one knows how much they stand to loose. No one knows what will be the final result of this "Arab experiment." But no one can take the events of yesterday away from the Iraqis. This is their time. This is their triumph. Every freedom-loving American ought to rise in ovation to their perserverrance. And every American and every Iraqi ought to say as Admiral David Farragut said, "Damn the [terrorists]. Full speed ahead!"