With rights comes responsibility to defend them

To The Daily Sun,

On the Fourth of July, we celebrate the 243rd anniversary of the signing of our Declaration of Independence, the first chapter of American scripture. Early in the Declaration, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” still stirs our hopes and imaginations. Ever since, rights have been at the center of our civic life.

The Constitution created institutions to guard our rights. The Bill of Rights followed on its heels, enumerating our democratic rights. New Hampshire’s motto, “Live Free or Die,” vividly expresses our state’s commitment to rights.

Over the intervening two and a half centuries, our rights have evolved as our democracy matured and our circumstance changed. Evolution is sure to continue. And today, much of our political discourse and disagreement hinges on questions of rights yet to be fully resolved: gun rights, voting rights, the right to life, a woman’s rights to choose, state's rights, religious rights, gender rights and on and on. A resilient democracy, after all, rarely stagnates.

But there is an important symmetry to the Declaration that is all but ignored today. The Declaration closes with, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

The signers of the Declaration understood that it wasn’t enough to express rights. The creation and defense of rights requires sacrifice. To that end, they stated their obligation not just as a political statement in colonial America but as a personal pledge to each other... they mutually pledged!

For the signers, It was more than just words. Five signers of the Declaration were captured, tortured and executed by the British. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary War. And Robert Morris, one of the signers and financiers of the War, committed so much of his personal wealth to the revolution that he was put in debtor’s prison.

So today, as we celebrate the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration, what do we mutually pledge to defend the rights that we hold so dear? What do we pledge to each other of our time, our fortunes, and our honor? What do our leaders and candidates propose that we pledge? And most importantly, individually, what are we doing to put that pledge into action?

Eric Herr

Hill