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April 18th, 2008
Santa Cruz, California
Received by FAB
I am here, Benjamin Franklin.
When we founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence,
our fates seemed uncertain. Whether the gallows or liberty, we did
not know.
The Revolutionary War went very badly for us at first, and this,
of course, caused great consternation. My efforts in France greatly
aided our cause, and when some American victories occurred, we gradually
saw the war turning in our favor.
There was a widespread feeling amongst those colonists acquainted
with the heady wine of Enlightenment thinking, that something providential
occurred when independence came. We could perceive our own faults,
and the economic factors that influenced us. But above and beyond
these factors, we also perceived a higher perception of government,
which was brought about, we felt, by divine providence.
As events unfolded, and the Articles of Confederation yielded to
the Constitution, we saw our original sense of a higher destiny
confirmed.
I described all this because I wish to say, with all the conviction
that this higher spirit world affords me, that these noble efforts
were not achieved in vain, and that, in short, the Republic will
not founder, as you sometimes have thought, even though your soul
knows the contrary.
Let me illustrate my point with a specific example. At the beginning
of the war, very few predicted our success. The British Army was
one of the mightiest forces on the planet, and the Colonial army
was ragtag and inexperienced.
But despite this inauspicious beginning, history records that we
were successful. We were all aware of the horrors of war. We understood
that it meant the barbarity of killing. But what sustained us was
a sincere desire for liberty. This feeling was passionately shared
by those colonists who supported our cause, of which there were
many. The fact that many colonists were either uncommitted or supportive
of England simply confirmed, in our eyes, the miracle of the English
surrender at Yorktown.
And so it has been in many other places and times. Obviously, justice
has not always been done. But if one studies history carefully,
one can see divine providence more frequently than is generally
supposed.
Which is all for the purpose of encouraging you to believe that
despite circumstances to the contrary, America will survive this
present crisis, despite all the forces that seek to destroy the
principle for which we founding fathers were willing to sacrifice
all.
Do not forget that there are many Americans who are now consciously
and courageously carrying the torch of freedom, and divine providence
will continue to manifest, as it did so many years ago on these
same shores.
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