OPINION:
“As long as the Spirit of ’76 endures, America will never die” (web, July 2) is an excellent recap of events in American history, one of the most important of which was the writing of the Declaration of Independence.
The most important part of that document may be its axiom “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.”
Separately, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “And for the support of the 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.”
It seems unlikely that Jefferson had an expiration date in mind for this pledge of unity, morality, faith, hope and charity.
THOMAS J. PIERPOINT
Lake Ridge, Virginia
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