The
Pledge
I consider the Declaration of Independence to be, probably,
the greatest document ever written. I have it as the wallpaper on
my computer. You have already found parts of it paraphrased on this web site.
I will now tell you what I believe to be
the most powerful part of the entire document ~ The last
line:
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.
This line above all is what gave birth to The
United States of America. It is what sustains us and what makes us the
greatest country ever. There is no group of men in any country today who
would sign this pledge for their country.
Think about what it says and how. What were they pledging
to support? The concepts of: Freedom -- and -- Democracy.
They knew they may never see it in their lifetimes
but it was important enough to them, for
their posterity, to sign this document.
"With a
firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence". These men were here
for religious freedom. Whether they believed in God or not they couldn't
say it in this document and still be credible. So they relied on Divine
Providence. Regardless of any person's specific belief, they could all
have faith in Divine Providence.
They pledged their Lives and their Fortunes. Many
of these signers did lose their lives in the battle to achieve these
concepts. Many were very wealthy men who did, in fact, spend all of their
personal fortunes in support of achieving these concepts. They died
paupers. Who would do that today?
But why did they do it? Because they also mutually pledged, one to
the other and all to every, their Sacred Honor. Their sacred Honor was
more important to them than their lives or their fortunes. For isn't
it, for each of us, that our
own personal sacred Honor is, truly, the Divine within us?
And so, even though I still cannot promise or guarantee
that my giving plan will become what I want it to be, I make to
you this solemn pledge:
On my own personal
Sacred Honor, I will do everything I can possibly do to make my
giving plan be all I have told you I want it to be.
Charles O
Graves