In the cold, hard winter of 1776-1777, hundreds of continental soldiers gave their lives in the name of freedom at the encampments at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. They'd heard the words of the Declaration of Independence read the summer before, and they came prepared, as many have since, to lay down their lives in an effort to create a country based on freedom for all.
There was no safety at Valley Forge from the biting winds, the deseases, the lack of proper food and clothing that would fell many a patriot, but those who died and those who survived did so, in large part, because they recognized that freedom demanded a price that all who sought it would have to pay.
Two Hundred and Thirty years later, a large part of the citizenry of these United States of America have chosen a different path from the colonists of 1776. They've chosen safety over freedom and self-preservation over personal sacrifice. Had they lived in 1776, American might never have been born.
