These folks (us–Ed.) are the little drops of water spoken of in 1774 by Nathaniel Niles when he said,
“If any should say, it is in vain for them as individuals to be vigilant, zealous and firm in pursuing any measures for the security of our rights, unless all would unite: I would reply, Ages are composed of seconds, the earth of sands, and the sea of drops, too small to be seen by the naked eye. The smallest particles have their influence. Such is our state, that each individual has a proportion of influence on some neighbor at least; he, on another, and so on; as in a river, the following drop urges that which is before, and every one through the whole length of the stream has the like influence…We are not at liberty to lie dormant until we can at once influence the whole. We must begin with the weight we have…[M]ighty floods have their rise in single drops from the rocks, which, uniting creep along till they meet with another…These unite, proceed, enlarge, until the mountains tremble at their sound.”
Niles’ writing was his small contribution to liberty and how powerful it was.
We must also come to understand that our liberty is a blessing from God. It is not an absolute right of our own, because if it were, we could support it, guard it, or neglect it at our will. It is a loan from God and one we must care for with great attention. Our liberty is a blessing too great to be compared to any other earthly good, yet we are all too ready to assume that once we have appointed our legislators and given them charge of our liberty, we need not have any further concern.