Cord Byrd: “every event memorable enough to be recorded becomes a part of history. But some events define and shape history with the…”

“every event memorable enough to be recorded becomes a part of history. But some events define and shape history with the force of plate tectonics, moving the world onto a new path. On September 17, 1787, just such an event occurred when the Constitution of the United States was signed. I hold this Constitution in my hand. With the adoption of this document, a new and powerful nation was created. That Nation, our Nation, still guided by the powerful hand of God in many ways and certainly still guided by the governmental structure laid out in this Constitution, is the heavyweight champion of world politics and the global economy. Actions of our Government influence world events with a speed and force of a category 5 hurricane. The Declaration of Independence was historic. And I have it, too, here in my little book which I carry in my shirt pocket--the Declaration of Independence. The signers of that Declaration of Independence committed treason against the king. And those brave men-- and they were men--who signed the Declaration of Independence, any one of them, each of them, could have been arrested, thrown into prison, sent to England in chains, and executed. So we ought to ponder those men, their lives and those documents that they signed. We don't often enough think about the sacrifices they made, the risks they were willing to take as they pledged their lives and their fortunes and their sacred honor.”