I confess that not too many years ago, if I had heard the expression "lives, fortunes, and sacred honor," I would not have been able to tell you who had made a commitment based on these things or in what document their vow could be found. One of the great benefits of involvement in Convention of States is that I have a much richer understanding of the culture of America's founding.
On this Memorial Day, it is an appropriate time to consider the signers of the Declaration of Independence as they pledged to each other their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor.
A pledge of lives and fortunes is not too hard to understand, but the concept of sacred honor is much less familiar to 21st-century Americans. In the eighteenth century, personal honor was fundamental to participation in a good society. A person known to be a cheater was not just subject to disapproval, he was essentially ruined in the eyes of the polite world.
Modern moral values tend to focus on kindness, good intentions, or trying one's best. The Founding Fathers, on the other hand, held to a stricter code of ethics. They believed that a breach of that code profoundly violated one's sense of integrity and personal wholeness.
Not only did the Founders pledge their honor, but they called it their sacred honor. The word 'sacred' carries connotations of something beyond this temporal world or the opinions of fellow humankind. The Founders realized that their honor was not just a matter of honesty before other men, but carried with it a sense of accountability to an eternal and divine Power.
Why did the signers of the Declaration feel a need to make this pledge? They were choosing a dangerous course that would present many temptations to renege or default on their allegiance to the cause. We know that sadly some did so, such as the infamous Benedict Arnold. When the Founding Fathers rooted their commitment in a sense of personal honor, they were acknowledging that the personal cost of such a violation was greater than the tangible risks of prison, bankruptcy, danger, and even execution.
As Convention of States volunteers, we are not being called on to risk our lives or very little of our fortunes. But each of us should recognize that our sacred honor is at stake in the integrity with which we fulfill our roles, provide leadership, interact with legislators, and represent the principles of the Constitution to our fellow Americans.
Let's follow in the footsteps of our Founding Fathers!
