Not until about 15 years ago did I realize what a great patriot David Crockett was. In the government schools, teachers rather made fun of ‘Davy.’ They gave him a coonskin hat and made him good at hunting and even had a song written about him. But underneath all that was a great statesman which American children today will never hear about. Is it because he gave a Not-Yours-to-Give speech? In the nineteenth century when David was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, a bill was taken up appropriating money for the benefit of a widow of a distinguished naval officer. Several beautiful speeches had been made in its support. The Speaker was just about to put the question to a vote when Crockett arose: ‘Mr..Speaker, I have as much respect for the memory of the deceased, and as much sympathy for the sufferings of the living, if suffering there be, as any man in this House, but we must not permit our respect for the dead or our sympathy for a part of the living to lead us into an act of injustice to the balance of the living.’
He went on to say that it would be better for those who believe that this widow needs to be helped to contribute some of their own money, and he’d be the first to do that. But it is an injustice to give away other people’s money. Oh, that we had more politicians of that calibre today!
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