87 years ago, the Founding Fathers created a brand new country here based on the idea that everyone is equal. Now, we are at war with ourselves, and this war is testing whether that kind of country can survive. A battle of this war was fought right here where we are standing. We are here today to dedicate a part of this battlefield as a cemetery for the soldiers that died here. This is the right thing to do. There is no way that we can ever bless this ground today more than the soldiers that died here already have. We can’t even come close. No one is going to care or remember the words we say here, but no one can ever forget what those soldiers did here. It’s up to the rest of us that are still alive to dedicate ourselves to finishing what these soldiers have started. It’s up to us to dedicate ourselves to saving the country, and remind ourselves that people have died for this cause. We have to promise that the soldiers here did not die for nothing. We have to promise that this country, under God, will be free again. We have to promise that a country that is made up of the people, was created by the people, and made to serve the people can exist in this world.
Thomas Paine was an England-born political philosopher and writer who supported revolutionary causes in America and Europe. Published in 1776 to international acclaim, “Common Sense” was the first pamphlet to advocate American independence.
Both recent and older studies have consistently shown that over a lifetime, the average degree holder will earn more than the average nongraduate. So, college appears to be a financially sound decision.
