A holiday with far ranging meaning

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A WORD FROM THE MAYOR

Ben Briscoe

I would like to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July. Of all the national holidays we celebrate, this one has the most far ranging meaning for me regarding our nation’s history. As the son of a career Air Force pilot, we were brought up to have a sincere reverence for the Flag, for our National Anthem, our military and the meaning of July 4th.
The significance of what happened on that day 247 years ago has blessed multiple generations of Americans and since then, America has been a model of freedom and liberty the world has envied. In an imperfect world, there is always criticism, but an honest assessment shows the positive has far exceeded the negative and that we as a nation over the years have moved to correct the inequities, sometimes paid for in blood. But those men, who signed the Declaration of Independence, were men of means that had a lot to lose, and by signing the Declaration, they were signing their death warrant. To which they sacrificially pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor. Many of the signers suffered just that on the Altar of Freedom in the brutal war with England that followed, so that we might gain our independence. Many more have served our nation in the generations since, thousands giving up their life’s blood of what President Lincoln called “the last full measure of devotion” to preserve the very Freedom our forefather’s dreamed of in 1776. Nothing we should ever take for granted.
This year Pearsall, Dilley and Cotulla will be holding celebrations in honor of our nation’s 247th birthday; I hope that each of us can reflect on more than just a fun                  holiday, but what it really means to be free and what it cost. Happy 4th of July. God Bless the City of Pearsall, the County of Frio, the State of Texas, the United States of      America and You.
Ben T. Briscoe
Mayor of Pearsall