56 men, or 56 hate mongers?

About those 56 men…

If today we were to find fifty-six men who would publicly proclaim such statements as these, the likelihood is that each and every one of these men would be cast as pariahs of society. They would be shunned. They would be ridiculed. They’d likely receive a summons, be hauled into court, and be indicted for engaging in a “hate crime.” Punitive actions against such men would be justified, many would agree, even if all fifty-six of them were successful businessmen, members of respected community organizations, or elected local government officials from mayor to governor.

What sort of statement or proclamation might spawn such public chastisement? Well, here are four candidate statements:

• There is a deity who has established the laws of nature, and this deity is God.
• There is a Creator who has created all men.
• There is a Supreme Judge of the world to whom all may appeal in times of peril.
• There is a Divine Provider of protection upon whom all can rely.

Many citizens of today hold such speech to be medieval utterances of the feeble minded. Do we not consider this type of speech to be unsuitable in the public forum? Controversial commentary of this type ought to be restricted to the confines of churches! And surely, candidates for public office ought never be elected after making statements like these.

And yet fifty-six men did publicly make these very proclamations! They boldly put their signatures to the statements and risked their very lives in doing so! Surely they must have realized that the courts have enacted prohibitions against promoting religious beliefs in public surroundings. Where did these Bible-thumpers come from?

Well, that part we can answer. They came from Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New York. Some were from New Hampshire, others from Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Rhode Island. A few were from Virginia and Maryland. Five were from Massachusetts.

They had ordinary names like William, John, and Samuel. Some were George, a few were Thomas. One or two had rather unique names. Not so common was a fellow called Button. Another was named Caesar. Altogether, the fifty-six men had the look of commonplace Americans.

But what they proclaimed – well, as noted, it was controversial at the very least. And probably criminal. Today.

After all, they did claim that there is God. Not just “a” God. God. Creator. Divine. And according to all fifty-six of these men, God created all men!

Isn’t it politically incorrect, unacceptable, to speak this way? In America? The land of the tolerant? It would seem so. Today. But these were fifty-six men who “hold these truths to be self-evident.”

Surely, by now, most of you have recognized the source of what these men proclaimed. You have also probably guessed the date. Sure, July, 1776.

So, were these men “wackos” or delirious ne’er-do-wells? Not at all. They were the authors and signatories of our Nation’s Declaration of Independence!

So what has changed in our country?