Candidate Manweller speech appeals to George residents

GEORGE - Thirteenth district candidate for legislature Matt Manweller hit a sweet sounding chord at the George Fourth of July Celebration by starting his keynote speech with the rhetorical question, "Is there any better place to celebrate the Fourth than George, WA?"

Manweller was invited by celebration officials to speak about Independence day, and not once did he mention his campaign. Instead he asked those in attendance to teach the younger set about July 4.

"Like all holidays, there is a deeper meaning that we should take time to reflect upon," Manweller said.

America is unique among all nations in the world. While England is a land and France is a people, America is an idea.

"Most nations are built around a common geography, a common language, common religion or even the treaty table," Manweller said. "America stands alone as the only nation based on a set of ideas. Our geography varies, our languages are many, and no other nation drew our boundaries. America is spectacular place where the only price of admission is a set of values.

"Those values were set out in the document that we celebrate today. The Declarationi of Independence, far more than the Constitution, is our national birth certificate. It has been called the American Creed. And the men who wrote it were also willing to fight for it.

"We are also here today to remember that these ideas didn't come free. The men at Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Saratoga and Yorktown had to buy them one bullet at a time. The men who signed this document knew the stakes.

"Benjamin Franklin wryly noted, 'we must all hang together or we shall all hang separately.' Thomas Jefferson, the author of our document, put it more nobly when he concluded the Declaration of Independence with 'We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.'

"So it strikes me that so much less is asked of us today. The men and women of 236 years ago were asked to give their lives and fortunes. All we are asked to do is vote.

"This November will be such an occasion. A chance to stand up for the liberty early generations provided. In a time when the sphere of human liberty is shrinking at the expense of an ever growing sphere of government, it is more important than ever that we make our voices heard.

"Just as important, we should also make sure that in between the hot dogs and fireworks, we tell our children and grandchildren why we are all here in George, Washington today and what we are truly celebrating."