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The Little State that Could - New Hampshire

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Published: 22Jan2010
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Family, we just returned from New Hampshire, one of the smallest states in the Union geographically, but one of the most powerful states we have ever visited. It's a part of New England, which means it's a blue state, which is not necessarily good, but it's got a spirit and spunk that could easily make it a red state, if only the people would get together and decide on it. Let me tell you why.

Recently, this year, the governor appointed a "Task Force for the Recruitment and Retention of a Young Workforce for the State of New Hampshire", obviously to try to find new ways to encourage young marrieds to move to the state. The task force came up with some ideas about how to bring people into the state, but in doing so, they stepped on a sacred cow. The state motto is "Live Free, or die." It's a quote from a Revolutionary War hero, General John Stark, who made the statement in 1809. The entire quotation from General Stark was "Live Free or die. Death is not the worst of evils." It's a bold statement, and the people of New Hampshire have been proud to adopt it. It was officially adopted as the state motto in 1945, at the successful conclusion of World War II. It is displayed on all entrances to the state, and on the license plates of the cars. Or rather it was displayed until the Task Force came up with their conclusions. They stated

"Our State portrays an unfriendly message that every individual has to succeed on their own, rather than count on a support system for assistance. Live free or die is not a friendly, supporting message that appeals to young people." Their recommendation was to change the state motto to "You're going to love it here." Now, that's a very nice thing to say, and it is true, anyone going to New Hampshire will love it there. But, one of the main reasons you will love New Hampshire is the spirit of the people. Now, I will admit that they have been very lax lately. A lot of liberals from Massachusetts and New York have moved to New Hampshire, and gotten themselves elected into key positions in the state. They sneaked in a lot of laws that had people grumbling, like civil unions, and lately, gay marriages, but by and large, the citizens thought to themselves, "Well, it doesn't affect me. No big deal." And isn't that the way it always is? We don't react, until it hits us right smack in the face.

Well, the suggestion that the state motto be changed caused an uproar which still has not subsided. The people rose up against the suggestion, which had already been put into effect. New signs were made up for the entrance to the state from Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont. License plates were going to be next. People began writing letters and making phone calls to their elected officials, to the governor's office, and the newspapers. I accessed a local newspaper, the Union Leader, on the internet, to the editorial page. One statement hit me in particular. It's what I said above. "How soft we have become. That ridiculous assessment (Governor's task force) is far from the reaction had by Stark's fellow Bennington survivors (Battle of Bennington) who wrote to him in 1810, 'The toast, sir, which you sent us in 1809 will continue to vibrate with unceasing pleasure in our ears.'" The editorial ended with a simple phrase, "They only won us our freedom. What do they know?"

It was followed by pages and pages of comments on the audacity of those suggesting the change in the state's motto. Mostly, it said, "Who gave them permission to change our State Motto.? The overriding sentiment was "Who are these people? They're probably not from New Hampshire. They've snuck up from the south of us. How dare they try to change our traditions?"

The long and short of it was that the change of the state's motto was squashed almost immediately. The change was voted on the beginning of July, 2009. We were there the beginning of November, 2009, and it was all but over. It was just a bad memory. We spoke of it at our conference on Saturday, November 7th. We said "You people do have strength. You can make change if the cause is something you believe is just. Just think what you could do if you joined together against abortion, or against all the liberal politicians who have come into the state?"

We got a standing ovation. New Hampshire rose up against the powers from out of state to maintain some of their values. We pray they will do the same for really important issues in the future.

Bob and Penny Lord are renowned Catholic authors and television hosts on EWTN, Global Catholic television. They are prolific writers about the Catholic faith, especially the Saints for which they have been dubbed "experts on the Saints." Their website is http://www.bobandpennylord.com

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