Because these are the times that try men's souls.
These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier
and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from
the service of their country; but he that stands it now,
deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. --Thomas Paine
Because this is what's at stake.
Because it's 1776 all over again
Because our founding principles–and our lives-- are on the line.
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....That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government...--The Declaration of Independence
And so is the world.
Because we didn't ask for this.
Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. -The Lord of the Rings
But sometimes, you have to stand and fight.
Isn't her dream still worth it?
And isn'this faith still yours?
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. --Martin Luther King Jr
Because we're still working for freedom for all.
We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression...
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way....
The third is freedom from want...
The fourth is freedom from fear...
...That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation.--Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Because our dreams, our democracy, our very lives are being drained dry.
And because we're beyond tired.
I'm beyond tired. I'm beyond scared. I'm standing on the mouth of hell, and it's going to swallow me whole. And it'll choke on me. We're not ready? They're not ready. They think we're gonna wait for the end to come, like we always do. I'm done waiting. They want an apocalypse? Oh, we'll give 'em one. --Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Because what's at stake today...
...is what has always been at stake.
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.
Keep working. Keep fighting. Because this is what's at stake.
1776 video by Mr. Helper and Ms. Prettyman.
Four Freedoms video by kcastleton.
h/t to mayan for the last picture idea
Crossposted at Progressive Historians