Patriotic Speeches
Each year, on the Fourth of July, the extended Davis family invites friends, neighbors, and really whomever wishes to come to their compound on the Saluda River to celebrate the founding of the United States of America. There is much merriment to be had there; guests can go tubing, rope swinging, or swimming in the river, take a ride on their zip line, feast on the succulent smoked meats, enjoy tasty beverages, and converse with friendly Americans. The culmination of this celebration is a time when guests are invited to address the crowd by making patriotic speeches. At first, I thought they were joking when they included this on their invitation, but they are dead serious. I find it to be an excellent exercise and celebration of one of the vital tenants of our nation’s founding, and a responsibility not to be taken lightly; our freedom of speech.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” -Thomas Jefferson (also signed by 55 other guys)
While this declaration was not a traditional speech in the sense that it was not read aloud in front of an audience, but rather mailed to King George, it still represents a profound communication of a set of beliefs, held so strongly by those who signed it and by those they represented, they risked their lives to ensure those beliefs became a way of life for all people.
“…It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” – Abraham Lincoln
During the greatest test of our nation’s resolve since the Revolution, President Abraham Lincoln stood on the still blood-soaked battlefield of Gettysburg and delivered a speech so enduring, we still remember it over 150 years later. He called upon us all to dedicate our lives, while we still have them, to fulfilling the promise of our nation’s founders; creating a world where all people are equal, enjoying the same rights and freedoms as their neighbors. We must never forget the sacrifices made by those who came before us, and we must work to build upon what they started, and protect it from those who wish to tear it apart.
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal’…I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. …This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, My country, ‘tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Standing literally in the shadow of the man who adressed our nation on the field at Gettysburg, Dr. King stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered possibly the greatest speech of the 20th century. 100 years after slavery was abolished in this country, African Americans were still fighting for the same freedoms the rest of the country already enjoyed. Dr. King quoted Lincoln, who quoted Jefferson, who claimed these God-given inalienable rights were true of all humanity. This nation was meant to be a shining city on a hill, but after nearly 200 years of struggle, many of its citizens were still waiting to reach the crest of that hill. Dr. King’s dream was not foolish. Dr. King’s dream was the American dream, and we are called to ensure that dream does not die.
America continues to be a work in progress; we still struggle with the concept of equality and freedom, but we have slowly inched forward. We continue to fight for the rights of women, minorities, the LGBT community, and immigrants. We have fought wars abroad in order to help spread freedom and democracy to other lands, but I feel we need reminding of the importance of protecting the rights and freedoms of people in our own country, whether they were born here or not. Thomas Jefferson didn’t say all Americans were created equal. Abraham Lincoln didn’t say a government for some people may not perish from the earth. Dr. King’s dream was that people, all people, were judged by their character, and not the color of their skin, or where they’re from. If we want to strive to become the country those who came before us dreamed we could be, then we need to figure out how to live in harmony with each other. Whether you were born here or not, if you want to be here, we should welcome you, because we are all children of our Creator. We may have different names for that Creator, or different ideas concerning the nature of that Creator, but so did our nation’s founders. They weren’t all born here either, but they shared the same dream; a dream passed down fron the framers to Lincoln, to King, and to us:
Bathtub Bourbon 