Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death! (Continued)

"It is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth - and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those, who having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it might cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it." (Virginia Convention of 1775 speech)

Ironically, this notion of "temporal salvation" may well be, in Henry's words, "the worst of it." At times Americans seem drunk with their own religion, and their religious views seep into government policy. That tends to destroy the precious concept of separation of church and state. Alternatively, perhaps slavery was the worst part of the early republic - both conclusions have validity. Henry was a slave owner who opposed abolition, though he believed the institution to be repugnant.

George Mason is recognized as the author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, but Henry is given some credit since he was a member of the Virginia Convention that unanimously approved it. Some concepts from Article 16, such as the Free Exercise of Religion, entered into the First Amendment of the Federal Constitution.

"Article 16: That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other."

Other references - such as the explicit recitation of "Christian forbearance, love, and charity" - were dropped from the Federal Constitution, which to some extent explains the modern political climate of Washington, D.C.

Henry died in 1799, a victor in the American Revolution.