Declaration more than just history

KARI TOMPKINS
The Edmond Sun

EDMOND April 06, 2008 12:47 am

— When I heard that an original copy of the Declaration of Independence was coming to the University of Central Oklahoma, I was almost giddy. Ask anyone who knows me.
I am something of a history buff. Don’t get me wrong, I was never a good student in history classes, but there is something about events that have happened in the past that gets my mind churning.
Things could have gone so differently than they did. We still could be subjects of the crown. We could have declared our independence, only to mess it up and have somebody else come and take over. We could have created for ourselves a totalitarian government who would crush us for breathing the wrong way. These types of near misses are just why history is so important.
Every day new history is being created by us. As we look back on history, things invariably end up just as they are supposed to, but it is never that easy when we are actually in the middle of it.
Just writing the Declaration of Independence was an act of treason at the time. That took enormous courage from the folks who signed their names. Other countries have had their own Declarations of Independence, some before ours, many more after. Ours was the great success story. Not only did we declare we were free and independent, we were able to hold our ground and stay that way.
The Declaration of Independence wasn’t just empty words or symbolism for us. We have those original signers to thank for that.
Saturday’s event was arranged as part of a larger movement designed to get people to register to vote, but I don’t have a lot to say about that. Like everything else under the sun, I think those who are going to vote are going to vote, and there is little you can do to convince those who won’t that it is a good idea.
I actually think voting takes a lot of guts. It is expressing an opinion, opening yourself up to criticism for whatever views you may hold. And no matter what you say or when you say it, there are folks who are going to criticize.
The signers of the Declaration opened themselves up to far more than mere criticism. They opened themselves up to jail time and maybe even death for holding what the crown viewed as traitorous opinions. But thanks to their efforts, we can now hold and express opinions that others could consider traitorous, blasphemous or just plain wrong.
There likely are folks out there who don’t think we should have the right to hold those opinions. That’s OK, their opinions are covered, too.
It all began with this document. And I got the honor of seeing it right here in Edmond. And it got me thinking. Maybe, when faced with something overwhelming, something where we have to confront someone, and open ourselves up to possible criticism, instead of hiding away and waiting until the confrontation passes, we should ask ourselves, what would the signers of the Declaration of Independence do?

KARI TOMPKINS is a longtime Edmond Sun employee.