Great read, but it's the last line that says so much because...
And for the support of this 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.
How many of us would make this pledge? The Founders recognized that they were being hunted down when they wrote this and if captured were to be hung!
I don't find that the most compelling line. I think the opening is where the power of this statement even comes from. They made this statement as a personal choice, out of the knowledge and belief that they were truly, radically, free, rather than it being something thrust upon them, as modern Americans find it.
It's easy to say what you are for, it's another to make a pledge to another person that you will back up your word, even in death.
I agree that this gave the former statement it's power. I wonder how many today would really give their lives to be truly free? I think we fear that responsibility.
Great point with everyone wanting everything from the government, as if the government has any money!
They have 300 million wallets, unfortunately, they are all in our pockets.