4th in a Series by Texas Author Carol Sewell
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas With Election Day upon us it is important to note the value of every vote. Many elections & issues have been won or lost by only one vote. In fact several of our states including California Idaho Oregon Texas & Washington became states by just ONE vote. In 1948 Lyndon B. Johnson our 36th president became a U.S. Senator by ONE vote. Every vote is important and often can make a difference one way ... or the other.
The most famous vote to make a difference happened in 1776.
The battles of the Revolutionary War actually started in 1775. By the spring of 1776 the Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia began debating whether to reconcile with England or declare their independence.
With a majority of town meetings in the colonies voting for independence Franklin Adams Sherman of Connecticut Livingston of New York and Jefferson of Virginia quickly drew up a draft of the proposed declaration. Jefferson did most of the final composing borrowing heavily from the phraseology of popular sermons of the day.
They needed a unanimous vote for it to pass and not all members were in favor of independence. In the end it came down to one vote.
That ONE vote came from Caesar Rodney the third delegate from Delaware who was not present because he had been called back to Delaware on urgent business. When he received the dispatch that he was needed to vote on this historic declaration he rode all night through a terrible storm to get to Philadelphia to cast his vote for independence.
He knew that doing so would prohibit him from seeking medical treatment in England for a cancerous growth on his face. His was one of many sacrifices our founders endured to secure liberty for the American colonies.
They were willing to sacrifice all and many of them did.
It was one vote that decided the fate of the colonies.
Tomorrows election will determine whether the United States will continue to head deeper into the socialist/Marxist abyss or return to the Constitutional system upon which the nation was founded. Those who promote freedom and liberty must turn out to vote and win elections decisively or face endless recounts that only open the door for fraud.
It is therefore incumbent on every one of us who care about the future for our children and grandchildren to vote regardless of the inconvenience the weather the lines or any other excuse.
If Caesar Rodney can ride all night through a terrible storm then we can gather at our voting places without complaint.
Each and every vote represents the voice of a citizen of the United States of America. One voice speaking out can change the course of history. It is an honor and privilege we should never take for granted or treat lightly.
Being an informed voter is our duty.
The Revolutionary War was not won quickly it took eight years and it was fought battle by battle.
This election is one battle of many more to come. In fact every election should be seen as a battle for freedom and every legislative initiative as a skirmish to keep our freedoms. Americans as a whole have become lax in being the gate keepers of liberty.
We have generations now that do not know the very principles upon which this nation was founded because it has not been taught by the schools parents and churches. There is absolutely nothing wrong for pastors to build sermons around the principles and values in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Some of our founders quotes offer great sermon topics. For example President John Quincy Adams said
Americans! Ask the Declaration of Independence and it will tell you that its authors held for self-evident truth that the right to life is the first of the unalienable rights of man and that to secure and not to destroy that right governments are instituted."
If the pastors had been preaching on these things then we would not have government instituting the killing of innocent life in the womb. If pastors had been preaching that charity is the responsibility of the church and not government then we the people might not have given in to the welfare state agenda. Another topic from the Declaration that could be preached for our benefit would be God given rights versus government given rights. We have seen governments coming up with all kinds of rights for us that are not rights at all. The sad truth is that what government gives government can take away. That is why the founders believed only in God given rights or unalienable rights. It is frightening to see Supreme Court justices approved who do not acknowledge the Declaration of Independence especially unalienable rights. Gods original design for equality versus mans equality is another topic in the Declaration that the church needs to address. The founders knew that God created man equal under the law but that their happiness was dependent on the amount of freedom they had in terms of opportunity to pursue their dreams. Success is dependent on each persons work ethic and ingenuity. Government sponsored equality limits the opportunity to pursue our dreams and creates an atmosphere if mediocrity. We want to be empowered to achieve all that we can be through hard work and creativity. The Pilgrims unsuccessfully attempted to follow the equality or collectivist path. As a result they nearly starved before realizing that system did not work. When each family was given their own parcel of land the incentive to work hard took over and the fledgling colony prospered. Private property and free enterprise were created at that moment and have been the foundation of the American way ever since. The colonists were all equally endowed with opportunity and based on their own talents and work ethic they prospered. The Declaration of Independence is the foundation of our government; the Constitution is the structure built on that foundation. In the Declaration the founders framed a statement of the basic American values or principles: equality and God-given rights. Where the Declaration embraces liberty the Constitution looks to a representative government as the means of securing it. Carol Sewell is the author of We the People: Know the Past Understand the Present Secure the Future" with foreword by David Barton.
