Every year during the 4th, Jim Pop’s ad was a pen and ink illustration of the Statue of Liberty. The only copy read: “Ever see a better picture of your home ranch or vineyard?” It was powerful. Old school as he was.

There was no sales copy. No listings. The message was simple. On this sacred Holiday everything takes a back seat to honoring those amazing Dead White Males who gave us the life and freedom we share today.

In honor of that spirit we’ll take a break from the petty gossipers working so hard to tear something down and focus on the great men who worked so hard to build something up.

Every 4th, we have a tradition. The kids and their friends read out loud to the grownups the meat and potatoes section of the Declaration of Independence. Of course they roll their eyes—“not again, Dad.” However, each year the kids rise to the occasion and there's not a dry eye among the adults when they finish.

Once the applause dies down we go over again why the 4th is more than hot dogs, beer (oops, wine), and water sports. George III, colonization, and monarchies are a bit rough, but the bit about taxation without representation seems to sink in—especially now that several are in the workforce. Kids can relate to the idea of participatory democracy. The idea of actually voting has a certain appeal to powerless kdis. Tossing tea into harbors to register discontent strikes a particularly responsive chord in teens.

As we remember today the 3,000 heroes who lost their lives on 9/11--those brave boys and girls who deposed a vicious dictator and liberated the Iraqi people--and have forever planted the seeds of freedom far from our shores--it is also appropriate that we remember the 56 men who fixed their signatures to that historic document over 200 years ago. Ever wonder what happened to them?

According to a favorite blog of mine, here was their fate: (I’ve heard it’s not entirely accurate, but you get the gist): Nine died of wounds or hardships during the war. Five were jailed and brutally treated. One lost all 13 of his children. The wives, sons, and daughters of others were killed, imprisoned, harassed, or deprived of all material possessions.

Seventeen signers lost everything they owned, and all of them were hunted as traitors, with most separated from their homes and families.

Why did they do it? Because they (held) “these truths to be self-evident; 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; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government become destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness….with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

These men were citizen soldiers who went on to become citizen Statesmen. They "Volunteered.” They were duly elected to office. They left their farms and businesses to serve in a government for little pay.

We’ve seen that tradition hold true in St. Helena today. Look at our elected School Board—-volunteers all: Carolyn Martini’s father was President of the school board when she and I were in St. Helena High. Our principal, Mr. Noble, was Cynthia Lane’s father. Like Cynthia and Carolyn,Ines DeLuna graduated from St. Helena High and her family is the Poster Child for what the American Dream is all about.

I forget the other board member’s name, but despite her questionable taste in men, she’s been a dedicated member of the school community for over twenty years and put three kids through the system.

These are the finest people from the finest families St. Helena has produced. Their reputation of honesty and integrity is unquestioned. We’re lucky each one is willing to carry on that tradition started 233 years ago.

They may not rise to the heights of a Jefferson or Adams, but each ought to be an All-American in your book.

And to the 56 – who literally signed their own death warrants, we will never forget. Ditto the 3,000 in the World Trade Center. To those who gave their last full measure in Iraq—-and those in harm’s way today in Iraq and Afghanistan: Our country tis of thee!



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