August 14th, 2010, the launch of The David Madeira Show, marked the 245th anniversary of the first \"Liberty Tree\" in Boston. It was so named by the Sons of Liberty, a group of private citizens not unlike today’s “Tea Party”. Among it’s notable members were tax collector Sam Adams, lawyer James Otis, silversmith Paul Revere and merchant John Hancock.
It was located in the Boston Commons and served as a meeting place for American colonists who wanted self-governance. They were loosely organized in opposition to the Stamp Act and other taxes and regulations imposed on them by the Crown, but as their numbers grew, the concept of the Liberty Tree did too. Soon nearly every colonial town had it’s own “secret” public gathering place, often signified by a red flag hoisted on a pole at the top of a tree. Those plotting to claim their God-given rights would gather there to discuss how to throw off the bonds of tyranny.
In August of 1775, the loyalists cut down the original Liberty Tree and used it for firewood, but the fire they struck lit a flame of freedom that led to the Declaration of Independence and “We The People” became a “shining city on a hill“.
In many ways, talk radio is the modern incarnation of the Liberty Tree. We raise our flag high in every town and gather to discuss how to reclaim our liberty. Tyrants will seek to cut down our Liberty Trees, but we will fight to keep them for we know, as Jefferson said, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
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