Will you risk it all?

July 5, 2010 Hello America, You know me…you know the drill.  It's the 4th of July, so of course you can expect a special email from old Glenn, one where I quote Thomas Jefferson and maybe make fun of myself for eating my weight in hot dogs.  Not this year.  It's true—for me, July 4th is much more than just a day for backyard barbeques and firework displays, and I know it's the same for you.  We celebrate and cherish America's independence all the time—we don't need a special occasion to fly the flag or honor those who serve.  So this year, I want to simply wish you and your family a happy 4th of July and leave you with one idea to think about.  Most of us think of the 4th of July as the day when we declared our independence from England and began building the greatest nation the world has ever known.  And while it's true, that notion feels very much like the end of something…British rule, oppression, being subjects to a king instead of to one another.  But when you stop and think about it, the 4th of July wasn't an ending at all—it was just the beginning. While we declared our Independence on July 4th, 1776, we had to keep fighting to defend that declaration until 1783, over seven years of bloody struggle and ultimate sacrifice.  And while those who fought in the Revolutionary War knew what they were dying to protect, "we the people" didn't adopt our Constitution until 1787, more than 11 years after those 56 men gathered in a room and signed their name to a piece of parchment that said there's a better way for men and women to live: In freedom. The second sentence of the Declaration of Independence reads: 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. The fight to live up to those 36 words continues to this day, as an ever expanding government is threatening to suppress the very freedoms our founders fought for. And while July 4th, 1776 was a major victory, let the date serve not merely as a day to remember how it all started - but also that freedom is fragile and vigilance is needed to preserve and protect it. Each and every one of us is responsible to make sure that freedom doesn't vanish on our watch. This 4th of July, think about what the founders risked to make sure they and future generations lived free - their lives, the fortunes, and their sacred honor. And ask yourself, are you willing to do the same? God bless you, your family, and the United States of America   Carl Ray Louk "FRIENDSHIP NEVER ENDS" SG-1996 "LET LOVE LEAD THE WAY" SG-2000 "THE PHOENIX SHALL RISE" SD "EVEN A MAN WHO IS PURE IN HEART AND SAYS HIS PRAYERS BY NIGHT, MAY BECOME A WOLF WHEN THE WOLFBANE BLOOMS AND THE AUTUMN MOON IS BRIGHT." LT-1941 "FLESH OF MY FLESH; BLOOD OF MY BLOOD; KIN OF MY KIN WHEN SAY COME TO YOU, YOU SHALL CROSS LAND OR SEA TO DO MY BIDDING!" CVTD-1895 "FROM HELL'S HEART I STAB AT THEE, FOR HATE SAKE I SPIT MY LAST BREATH AT THEE" CA-1895  "I HAVE BEEN, AND ALWAYS SHALL BE YOUR FRIEND" Spock  "TRICK OR TREAT, TRICK OR TREAT CANDY IS DANDY BUT MURDER, OH MURDER, IS SO SWEET" CRL-2003  "EYE OF NEWT, AND TOE OF FROG, WOOL OF BAT, AND TONGUE OF DOG ADDER'S FORK, BLIND-WORM'S STING, LIZARD'S LEG, AND OWLET'S WING. FOR A CHARM OF POWERFUL TROUBLE, LIKE A HELL-BROTH BOIL AND BABBLE. DOUBLE, DOUBLE, TOIL AND TROUBLE, FIRE BURN, AND CALDRON BUBBLE" WS MySpace.com: www.myspace.com/carlraylouk http://www.myspace.com/carlraylouk Yahoo Group: Yahoo! Groups : LouksHauntedGraveyardhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/LouksHauntedGraveyard/ Yahoo Group: Yahoo! Groups : TheWorldAccordingtoCarlRayLouk http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheWorldAccordingtoCarlRayLouk/