Give me Liberty or Give me air conditioning

According to the 2009 census I live in a town of 5515 people of that number 974 are 17 years of age or younger, leaving my home town with 4541 adults. According to that same census there were 2248 houses. That’s a small town by anyone’s standards, no Wal-Mart, no Starbucks, no shoe stores. At the same time I don’t live in the sticks either, we have a very nice library, nice schools, nice court house, lots of churches, several banks, a few parks, things any larger town would be proud to have.

In 1765 Boston was the third largest town in America. I call it a town because of its size. The last surviving census before the revolutionary war pegs the population of Boston at 15,520 but of that number 8119 were under the age of 16, leaving at most 7401 adults, just a little more than the town I live in today. In 1765 Boston had 1676 houses nearly 600 fewer than where I live. Yes it was the capitol of Massachusetts, but in size, buildings, population, or amenities it had nothing on Ulysses, Ks.
I am sure that the people of Boston knew each other better than I know the residents of Ulysses. They didn’t have TV or Air Conditioning. I bet they knew their neighbors and their neighbor’s business and they knew it without the help of e-mail or Facebook. Boston was truly a small town.
In 1775 the British moved 4000 troops into Boston to put down the rebellion, 2 1/3 soldiers for every home.  What did Boston have that demanded such attention from the British? Yes it was a harbor, yes the third largest town in America, but as with any community it biggest asset was its people and their ideals: John Adams, Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, John Hancock, William Dawes, Robert Paine, William Hooper, and Benjamin Franklin were at one point in their lives residents of Boston. And there were countless others whose names are in our history books that walked the streets of a small but influential town of 7401 adults.
This small community called Boston was instrumental in gaining our liberties that we enjoy today. They did it at a time when modern communication methods consisted of a fast horse and a couple of lanterns from a church steeple. I see the resources and the tools I have today, the church I attend, and the community I live in, and wonder do we have 8 men or women that could inspire our community in the same manner? Are there high ideals that I would pledge my life for…could our 4541 adults be such a force that 2 1/3 soldiers per house would not be enough to stop us?
I think I am glad we won our independence before we invented the TV and Air Conditioning.
David