-- The Dollar Bill & Its Meaning
--
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Take out a one dollar bill
and look at it.
The one dollar bill
you're looking at first came off the presses in 1957 in
its
present design. This so-called paper money
is in fact a cotton and
linen
blend, with red and blue minute silk fibers running
through it. It
is
actually material. We've
all washed it without it falling apart. A
special
blend of ink is used,
the contents we will never know. It is with
overprinted
symbols and then it
is starched to make it water resistant and pressed
to
give it that nice crisp
look.
If you look on the front of the bill,
you will see the United States
Treasury
Seal. On the top you will see the
scales for balance - a balanced
budget.
In the center you have a
carpenter's T-square, a tool used for a even
cut.
Underneath is the Key to the United
States Treasury. That's all
pretty
easy to figure out, but what
is on the back of that dollar bill is
something
we should
all know.
If you turn the bill over,
you will see two circles. Both circles,
together,
comprise the Great Seal of
the United States. The First Continental
Congress
requested that Benjamin
Franklin and a group of men come up with a
Seal.
It took them four years to
accomplish this task and another two years to
get
it approved. If you look at the left
hand circle, you will see a Pyramid. Notice
the
face is lighted and the western side is
dark.
This country was just beginning. We
had not begun to explore the West
or
decided what we could do for
Western Civilization.
The Pyramid is
uncapped, again signifying that we were not even close
to
being finished Inside the capstone you
have the all-seeing eye, an
ancient
symbol for
divinity.
It
was Franklin's belief that one man couldn't do it alone,
but a group of men,
with the help of God,
could do anything. "IN GOD WE TRUST" is on
this
currency.
The Latin
above the pyramid, ANNUIT COEPTIS, means "God has
favored
our undertaking."
The Latin below
the pyramid, NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM,
means
"a
new
order has begun."
At the base
of the pyramid is the Roman Numeral for
1776.
If you
look at the right-hand circle, and check it
carefully, you will learn that
it is on every National Cemetery in the United
States. It is also on the
Parade
of Flags Walkway at the Bushnell,
Florida National Cemetery and is
the
centerpiece of most hero's monuments. Slightly modified, it is the seal of
the President of the United States and it is always
visible whenever he
speaks, yet no
one knows what the symbols
mean.
The Bald Eagle was selected as a symbol
for victory for two reasons: first,
he
is not afraid of a storm; he is strong and he is
smart enough to soar above
it. Secondly,
he wears no material crown. We had just broken from the
King
of
England.
Also, notice
the shield is unsupported. This country can now stand on
its own.
At the top of that shield you
have a white bar signifying congress, a
unifying
factor. We were coming together
as one nation.
In
the Eagle's beak you will read, "E PLURIBUS UNUM,"
meaning "one
nation from many
people."
Above the Eagle you have thirteen stars
representing the thirteen
original
colonies, and any clouds of
misunderstanding rolling away.
Again,
we were coming together as one. Notice what the Eagle
holds in his
talons. He holds an olive branch
and arrows. This country wants peace,
but
we will never be afraid to fight
to preserve peace.
The Eagle
always wants to face the olive branch, but in time of
war, his gaze
turns toward the
arrows.
They say that
the number 13 is an unlucky number. This is almost a
worldwide
belief. You will usually never
see a room numbered 13, or any hotels
or
motels with a 13th floor. But,
think about this:
13 original colonies,
13 signers of the Declaration
of Independence,
13 stripes on our
flag,
13
steps on the Pyramid,
13 letters in the Latin
above,
13 letters in "E Pluribus
Unum",
13 stars above the
Eagle,
13 plumes of feathers on each span of the
Eagle's wing,
13 bars on that
shield,
13 leaves on the olive
branch,
13 fruits, and if you look closely, 13
arrows.
And for minorities: the 13th
Amendment.
Ask people, "Why
don't you know this?" Your children don't know this
and
their history teachers don't know
this.
Too many veterans have given up too
much to ever let the
meaning fade.
Many veterans remember
coming home to an America that did not
care.
Too many veterans never came home at
all.
Tell everyone what is on the
back of the one dollar bill and what it stands
for,
because nobody else
will.
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