Joel A. McNabbJuly 4, 2013 (Forwarded by Hipshot):

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? This is worth reading..
"Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they?
Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.
Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward. Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr, noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt. Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.
John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.
Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates. Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books never told you a lot about what happened in the Revolutionary War.
We didn't just fight the British. We were British subjects and we fought our own government! Some of us take our liberties for granted, forgetting they were won by the "militia" against an overbearing central government bent on robbing individuals of basic rights to speech, self-defense, and personal property.
Be sure to take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday to silently thank these patriots and resolve never to give away the freedoms they died to secure. It's not too much to ask for the price they paid.
Remember: freedom is never free."
I truly do not want to anger anyone nor hurt anyone's feelings but this is how I see it.
Freedom is never free? Neither is freedom ever freedom. It is an illusion. See what happens when you do not pay your property taxes (more like leasing and not owning). See what happens if you do not fill out the proper paperwork to conduct home schooling of your (my/our) own children. See what happens if you happen to be in one of the states that does not allow high capacity magazines or certain types of firearms because of the way they look, black, bayonet lug, scary, pistol grip etc..., and get caught with either. It is said that there is no such things as gun registration in the United States. Really? As a Type 01 FFL holder I can tell you that yes there is. It is simply called an A&D (acquisition & disposition) book and do not forget the ATF Form 4473. Both the book and 4473 have all the information about the buyer, where the gun came from, when and where in should currently be. Which the BATFE and FBI plus the local ranking chief law enforcement officer came come and take or look through.
Lets take a look at some history. Anyone here know of Shay's Rebellion? Veterans of The American Revolution being put in prison, or property confiscated because they were not able to pay or get caught up on their property taxes. Hmmm high taxes and lack of care from the government.
http://www.ushistory.org/us/15a.asp
What about the Whiskey Rebellion? Short version; people made whiskey, the government wanted to tax it. The folks that made more of produced the most were taxed the least and just the opposite for those that made small quantities (they paid the most). Do not forget that it was the most honorable George Washington that lead Federal troops to quash that rebellion (a large whiskey manufacturer himself). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiskey_Rebellion
Both of these rebellions were fought in the same states/colonies that fought the English for freedom and independence just about ten years previously.
These are just a tiny bit of history that is not taught and not generally known. There is much much more.
The War of Independence/The American Revolution really was nothing more than the people with the money here on this continent wanting to keep their money in their own pockets. And once again they used the common man to do the dirty work and stirred them up in the name of patriotism. Sure there were land owners and officers and business owners that truly believed in freedom and some paid the absolute price for it.
The Reverend Byles Mather, not Mel Gibsons character Benjamin Martin in the movie The Patriot, that actually said "Which is better - to be ruled by one tyrant three thousand miles away or by three thousand tyrants one mile away?" Certainly the reverend had loyalist leanings but still well said.
Oh and lets not forget that there were already people here on this continent with villages both large and small long before the Revolution was fought. North America had been discovered by people long before any war of independence was fought. I won't go into any of the atrocities conducted on men women and children by those wanting independence to those that had been here for centuries before.
Well as the saying goes "There was a war and an election, yep the government won again".