Why today is so important!

Friday – September 9, 2011

Why today is so important!

I try to bring out our history to shed a little light on the importance of some dates that have brought us the liberty, freedom and independence that we enjoy today.

On today’s date, in 1776, something grand occurred in the history of the world and our country. The Continental Congress formally declared that the name of a new nation be changed from that of the United Colonies to that of the United States.

The actual resolution read: "Resolved, That in all continental commissions and other instruments, where, heretofore, the words "United Colonies" have been used, the stile be altered, for the future, to the "United States.” These simple words led to a unique new concept in Government, self rule and the determination of a people to reject tyranny and oppression.

A resolution by Richard Henry Lee, which had been presented to Congress on June 7 and approved on July 2, 1776, issued the resolve, “That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States…. “As a result, John Adams thought July 2, would be celebrated as “The most memorable epoch in the history of America.” Instead, the day has been largely forgotten in favor of July fourth, when Jefferson’s edited Declaration of Independence was adopted. That document also states, that these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States. However, Lee began with the line, while Jefferson saved it for the middle of his closing paragraph.

By September, The Declaration of Independence had been drafted, signed, printed and sent to Great Britain. What Congress had declared to be true on paper in July was clearly the case in practice, as Patriot blood was spilled against the British on the battlefields of Boston, Montreal, Quebec and New York. Congress had created a country from a cluster of colonies and the nation’s new name reflected that reality.

This might be a small footnote in the history of our nation, but it remains the steadfast element of history that cannot be denied to the place that people from around the world have flocked to, to be free.

This is the key element that brought us 9/11. There is force that is bound and determined to take these United States and take the freedom that it represents away from the world our people and the greatness that we stand for.

As we prepare for the 10th anniversary observance of a day that remains fixed in our minds and the nations unique mosaic, we cannot forget the meaning of freedom, independence and liberty. In our history, our blood has been shed in the struggle to guarantee these rights. Blood has been shed in foreign lands to deliver these rights. Unfortunately, an enemy ten years ago brought death and destruction upon an innocent city that has at its entrance the symbol of freedom itself. That symbol still stands, not only in the brightness of a new dawn, but in the darkness of the day that we will forever honor. This is the important thing to remember on Sunday, September 11, 2011.

I will have a special note on Sunday. It will be my third such note that I haven’t been able to ignore. However, I will say it now, this year I fell that the observance is now being politicized by the Mayor of New York City, he has refused to let the elements that saved the day 10 years ago be a part of the day’s observance on Sunday. This type of politician is what threatens the very essence of what the struggle and celebration of freedom is all about. That is just my opinion, but then again that’s how I roll.

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: Freedom is something I believe in. Liberty is something that I recognize as the most important part of the struggle for our freedom. The search for Freedom and Liberty started with a Declaration that put into words the Independence that moved the world forward by the introduction of two words; United and States. Can you imagine anything less? That is why today is so important.