To the Citizens of America

In 1783, following the end of the Revolutionary War, George Washington wrote to the citizens of the young America.  "The Citizens of America...are by the late satisfactory pacification, acknowledged to be possessed of absolute freedom and Independency; They are, from this period, to be considered as the Actors on a most conspicuous Theater, which seems to be dedicated by Providence for the display of human greatness and felicity."  The United States of America were not created to benefit some but to benefit all, to allow all men to live equally and share equal opportunities for personal success, if they chose to take them.  Though we are created for liberty, it does not come easily or naturally and exacts a high price from its possessors.  However, the pain of bondage, personally, nationally, or otherwise cannot be compared to the inconveniences of freedom.  And, in the end, it is the discipline born of discomfort that makes man great.