Examples of Devotion
by Simon Edelstein
George Washington was one of the richest men in America at the time of the Revolution.
His fields were well tilled and fenced. His mansion was beautiful and commodious.
Prudence would have kept him out of the war and saved his property, but the love of liberty
impelled him to stake his life and fortune on the outcome. When he won, we all won.
Moses could have lived in the King's court in safety, and perhaps succeeded to the Egyp
tian throne. He preferred hardship with his own people to luxury with the loss of honor
and self-respect. And in his daring, the whole world profited.
The Pilgrim Fathers could have made a good living in England, or in Holland, but
their dream of independence drove them to America and hardships. In their adventure
and prowess was laid the foundation of idealism for the world's greatest nation.
The world owes some of its richest blessings and finest privileges to men who sacrificed the bird they held in their hand for better birds in the bush. It is an old fallacy that the certain is preferable to the possible.
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