Ignorance Isn't Bliss

My favorite columnist, Cal Thomas has written an article reporting on the national results of the latest Intercollegiate Studies Institute civics test:

For the third straight year, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) has found that a large number of Americans cannot pass a basic 33-question civic literacy test on their country's history and institutions. The multiple-choice questions ask about the inalienable rights mentioned in the Declaration of Independence (life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness), the name of Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1933 series of government programs (The New Deal) and the three branches of government (executive, legislative, judicial). No, I didn't peek at the answers. I received a good education.

The random sample of 2,508 American adults, ranging from those without high school diplomas, to people with advanced degrees, revealed a minimal difference in civic literacy between the uneducated and the highly educated. Fifty-six percent of those surveyed could identify Paula Abdul as one of the judges on "American Idol," but only 21 percent were able to recognize a phrase from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. I had to memorize that speech in high school. What are they memorizing now?

This article is a must read. And you should also take the time to go to the ICI website and take the test for yourself. I scored 87.88, missing 4 out of the 33 questions, but learned something that I didn't know in the process of taking the test. I was hoping for an A, and if I'd gone with my instincts on two of the questions I would have gotten it. The scary thing is just how bad Americans do on this test across the board. What is even scarier is that the elected officials who took the test did WORSE than the national average.

It's no wonder that we're in the state that we are. God help us.

John McCain

Many of you know that I was not a big fan of John McCain at the outset of the campaigning season, but I have to say that my opinion of him has been greatly boosted after watching him through the campaign. I have to admit that I misjudged him. John McCain is a true patriot and servant of our nation. I wish we had 99 others just like him in the Senate... and one in the White House.

I was especially proud of his concession speech that ended the Presidential race of 2008. His words and poise showed great character, vision, and devotion to our nation. In case you didn't get the chance to hear what he said, I have provided the text below.

John McCain is a fine man. I wish that I could have called him my President, but that was not to be.

I dare say that it was necessary for the election to end the way it did if real change is to come to our nation. Had John McCain won the Presidency I believe that the trials that are coming our way would have been postponed. The Congress (both Republicans and Democrats) would have done everything in their power to resist the reform that he wanted to bring to Washington. He would have been a very frustrated man because as surely as I breathe as I am writing this there would have been no change.

The people would have remained as they are or gotten worse.

As things are now, I believe that the trials to come will purify our nation and cause a real change in the place that matters most: the hearts of the people of this nation. As John Adams put it:

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a religious and moral people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other. "

So true. Our fallen nature sees to that.

Senator McCain, my hat is off to you. Thank you for your service to our country. I pray that you will still be in office to see the changes that you have so earnestly desired to see.

The Text Of John McCain's Concession Speech For the 2008 Presidential Election

JOHN MCCAIN: Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening.

(APPLAUSE)

My friends, we have -- we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly.

A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him.

(BOOING)

Please.

To congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.

In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.

This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight.

I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that, too.

But we both recognize that, though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound.

A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters.

America today is a world away from the cruel and frightful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States.

Let there be no reason now...

(APPLAUSE)

Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.

(APPLAUSE)

Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer him my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day. Though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.

Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain.

These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.

I urge all Americans...

(APPLAUSE)

I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.

Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.

(APPLAUSE)

It is natural. It's natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (OFF-MIKE)

We fought -- we fought as hard as we could. And though we feel short, the failure is mine, not yours.

AUDIENCE: No!

MCCAIN: I am so...

AUDIENCE: (CHANTING)

MCCAIN: I am so deeply grateful to all of you for the great honor of your support and for all you have done for me. I wish the outcome had been different, my friends.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: We do, too (OFF-MIKE)

MCCAIN: The road was a difficult one from the outset, but your support and friendship never wavered. I cannot adequately express how deeply indebted I am to you.

I'm especially grateful to my wife, Cindy, my children, my dear mother...

(APPLAUSE)

... my dear mother and all my family, and to the many old and dear friends who have stood by my side through the many ups and downs of this long campaign.

I have always been a fortunate man, and never more so for the love and encouragement you have given me.

You know, campaigns are often harder on a candidate's family than on the candidate, and that's been true in this campaign.

All I can offer in compensation is my love and gratitude and the promise of more peaceful years ahead.

I am also -- I am also, of course, very thankful to Governor Sarah Palin, one of the best campaigners I've ever seen...

(APPLAUSE)

... one of the best campaigners I have ever seen, and an impressive new voice in our party for reform and the principles that have always been our greatest strength...

(APPLAUSE)

... her husband Todd and their five beautiful children...

(APPLAUSE)

... for their tireless dedication to our cause, and the courage and grace they showed in the rough and tumble of a presidential campaign.

We can all look forward with great interest to her future service to Alaska, the Republican Party and our country.

(APPLAUSE)

To all my campaign comrades, from Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter, to every last volunteer who fought so hard and valiantly, month after month, in what at times seemed to be the most challenged campaign in modern times, thank you so much. A lost election will never mean more to me than the privilege of your faith and friendship.

I don't know -- I don't know what more we could have done to try to win this election. I'll leave that to others to determine. Every candidate makes mistakes, and I'm sure I made my share of them. But I won't spend a moment of the future regretting what might have been.

This campaign was and will remain the great honor of my life, and my heart is filled with nothing but gratitude for the experience and to the American people for giving me a fair hearing before deciding that Senator Obama and my old friend Senator Joe Biden should have the honor of leading us for the next four years.

(BOOING)

Please. Please.

I would not -- I would not be an American worthy of the name should I regret a fate that has allowed me the extraordinary privilege of serving this country for a half a century.

half a century.

Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing enough for anyone, and I thank the people of Arizona for it.

(APPLAUSE)

AUDIENCE: USA. USA. USA. USA.

Tonight -- tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Senator Obama -- whether they supported me or Senator Obama.

I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president. And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.

Americans never quit. We never surrender.

(APPLAUSE)

We never hide from history. We make history.

Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you all very much.

Sonnet XIII

On The American Election 2008 - A Sonnet To My King
By Jonathan D. Eller

My God, Your wisdom far exceeds my own,
And I draw comfort from this very thing.
For by Your great omnipotence You've shown
That You determine president and king.
Yes, You know all men's hearts - this fact is true -
And render unto them a payment just,
Rewarding men and nations what is due.
Lord, in Your goodness I have learned to trust.
Your discipline is sorrowful for sure -
Your wrath and blows seem ever so severe -
But chastisement is sent to make us pure,
And by its cleansing helps us to draw near.
My God, this nation's nothing without Thee.
Please cleanse our hearts and truly make us free.

November 5, 2008

On The Money

Democrats have worked hard to bring more religious voters into their fold. As part of their strategy they have promoted a dubious and debatable doctrine that big government should be doing the work of God on Earth. But Democrats want to pick and choose what they like about God and what they don't (Republicans sometimes do this as well in such matters as wealth and materialism).

While government has a role in addressing certain issues that can be considered biblically-based (such as justice and poverty), Democrats see no role for government in helping to restrict sinful man when he wishes to kill the unborn, or allow - even promote - any and every relationship but traditional marriage.

It is in its failure to address these premier moral issues that the Democratic Party has unmasked itself as a party that cares less for God's agenda and more for its own, as it pursues the White House.

- Cal Thomas (excerpt from 'Losing Faith Voters')

Cal is so right on this one. The big problem is that the Democrats don't understand Evangelical Christians. They think that if they try to pretend to be more religious that Evangelicals will buy in and vote for the Obamessiah.

The problem is that Evangelicals cannot support the positions that the Democratic party has taken on life and moral issues. Evangelicals are overwhelmingly pro-life, and this is a make or break issue with most of them. Evangelicals are also overwhelmingly in support of the defense of a biblical definition of marriage - also a make or break issue.

In its stance on both of these issues the Democratic party has shown its true colors in regards to its so-called deep religious conviction. The conviction may be religious, but it isn't Christian, and Evangelicals know the difference.

(If you would like to see who ought to be "doing the work of God on Earth" check out this new post over at Conspiracy of Kindness.)

A Quickie...

Man, I wish I had time to post a long update tonight, but this is going to have to be a fly-by.

I checked my garden today and everything is coming up nicely. Most things are just starting to poke their heads through the dirt, but I hope to have stuff up high enough to be able to take pictures early next week.

Had a good practice with the Jazz Band tonight. We just kind of jammed for a while. It was fun. We have a small gig tomorrow night at South Rowan High School for the Drama Club fundraiser. We also have a gig coming up on June 6. That will be here before you know it. Still, if you are looking for a good one to come down for, our Dixie's Farmers' Day gig should be a good one to plan for.

This weekend I'm heading out with a couple fraternity brothers and their families to Lake Chatuge for some fishing and catching up. I'm not exactly sure how things will go. I'm the only single going with three families with kids. Yay. I am sure that it will be fun, but I am a true hermit at heart, and four days of tip-toeing around 12-13 other people will have me most ready to return to my little hermitage. There are pluses and minuses to single life! Hopefully I will find a nice fishing hole with some trout. I haven't caught any of those since I was a kid.

Tomorrow I'll be slammed. I have some mowing to do, and would really like to finish putting out my garden before Friday's rain arrives. (Thank God that we are getting rain regularly this year!) There is also a family dinner and I have already mentioned the gig. On top of that I need to go to the bank, the grocery store, do some food prep and pack. Perhaps I won't sleep... That should make me nice and sociable!

Well, if I don't get to update again before I leave. Have a great Memorial Day, and in the midst of your celebrations take some time to remember the men and women who have laid down their lives to give us the freedoms that we so often take for granted.

Now Please Honor Our Nation By Standing and Removing Your Hats...

Dang! Them gals can sing!

This Really Shouldn't Be A Problem

The battle over voting rights will expand this week as lawmakers in Missouri are expected to support a proposed constitutional amendment to enable election officials to require proof of citizenship from anyone registering to vote.

The measure would allow far more rigorous demands than the voter ID requirement recently upheld by the Supreme Court, in which voters had to prove their identity with a government-issued card.

Sponsors of the amendment — which requires the approval of voters to go into effect, possibly in an August referendum — say it is part of an effort to prevent illegal immigrants from affecting the political process. Critics say the measure could lead to the disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of legal residents who would find it difficult to prove their citizenship.

OK, check me here if I am wrong, but legal residents aren't allowed to vote - only citizens, right? The article that I quoted above did have a story about an older lady who had trouble getting a birth certificate, but really, how many bona fide US Citizens truly can't prove their citizenship with a little due diligence?

This is a measure whose time has come and really should be more widespread than it is. US Citizens should have absolutely no qualms about proving that they are a citizen. Laxness in this department has caused the problems that are facing the states with large illegal immigrant populations.

Remember how there has been so much pandering to the illegal crowd by California politicians? Why are they cow-towing to a group that legally isn't able to vote? The problem is that these folks have been allowed to vote and have been actively recruited to the voter lists by treasonous people who care more about winning elections than they do the welfare of our country.

Frankly, if I were a naturalized citizen and had gone through all of the expense and work that it takes to become a citizen of the US I would be incensed. Anyone who actively supports allowing non-citizens to vote is no friend of our nation. It is not a burdensome requirement to make people prove their citizenship.

Many opponents of the law cry that thousands upon thousands of legitimate citizens will be disenfranchised by such a law. I wish that they would produce all of these myriads of people. Here's an idea: I suggest that instead of working to prevent a just law, that they work with these purported "disenfranchised" folks to help them prove their citizenship. It shouldn't be that tough to do, and certainly shouldn't cost as much as fighting this legislation.

Citizenship, like Christianity, cannot be attained by any path one chooses. The benefits, privileges, and rights of the citizen (and the Christian) are only available to those who obtain membership by the prescribed means. It is high time that we remember that.

Quote Of The Day

President Calvin Coolidge
"It is not in violence and crime that our greatest danger lies. These evils are so perfectly apparent that they very quickly arouse the moral power of the people for their suppression. A far more serious danger lurks in the shirking of those responsibilities of citizenship, where the evil may not be so noticeable but is more insidious and likely to be more devastating."

"We live in a republic. A vital principle of that form of government is representation. More and more as our population increases it becomes necessary for the people to express their will through their duly chosen delegates. If we are to maintain the principle that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, if we are to have any measure of self-government, if the voice of the people is to rule, if representatives are truly to reflect the popular will, it is altogether necessary that in each election there should be a fairly full participation by all the qualified voters."

— Calvin Coolidge, April 19, 1926 from his speech to the Daughters of the American Revolution in Washington, DC.


I dare say that the first danger is a direct result of falling prey to the second. Even though many are disillusioned with the Congress and with the candidates for the Presidency, this is no time to shrink back from our duty as citizens of the United States to be engaged in the democratic process.

As I have mentioned here, I am utterly amazed that the leaders in Congress can be so totally impotent on anything that is remotely important. Because it is an election year with a "lame-duck" President Congress sits on its hands.

I am furious that Congress needs a week's vacation for every minor National Holiday that comes along - longer for the more widely celebrated ones. If our country's business was run the way that the Congress is our economy would look more like Somalia's than that of one of the world's economic leaders.

But what can I do?

There are two things that I can do. The first is the most powerful. I can pray. I can pray for God to strengthen and encourage those who are in Washington as statesmen, looking to build our country up. I can intercede for the Lord to expose those who are only in Washington to line their pockets and stroke their egos. I can implore the Creator to uncover the corruption, immorality, and duplicity of the ungodly who have risen to power. I can petition the Almighty to remove those in our government whose hearts continually run toward evil. And I can ask the hand of Providence to put godly men in the place of those that He removes.

I can also educate myself, educate others, and vote. What a tremendous privilege we have in this nation to determine as a people who will govern us. Yes, it is God who makes the ultimate decision - this is why prayer is so important - but He graciously allows us to have a voice.

Don't give up out of frustration. We have a responsibility to act.

As President Coolidge said later in his speech:

"The perilous aspect of this situation lies in as insidiousness. With the broadening of popular powers, the direct election of practically all public officials, and the direct nomination of most of them, there is no opportunity for an expression of the public will except at the ballot box. It is perfectly evident that all those who have selfish interests will go to the polls and will be active and energetic in securing support for their proposals and their candidates. The average voter supports what he believes to be the public interest. Unless they appear on election day that interest will go UNREPRESENTED." (Emphases mine.)

We cannot afford to give tacit approval to "those who have selfish interests." They would sell America to the highest bidder - to her destruction. We must stay involved.

Some Good Resources

If you are like me, you are constantly inundated with requests from everyone under the sun for money to help some worthy cause or another. It is impossible to give to each and every one of these requests - and invariably a donation is welcomed by another hand out for more. No doubt there are many worthy causes and the need in our world is great. So how does someone choose a good charity? How do you know who the crooks are? How can you find out whether someone is a good or poor steward of the monies that they collect?

Charles Colson has written an article over at Townhall.com that exposes a couple of crooked organizations that are exploiting our righteous sympathies for injured soldiers to make themselves rich. He also identifies some good web resources to help identify good charities. I hope that you will take the time to check out this article and these websites as you are choosing where to make your charitable contributions.

While You Are Shopping This Holiday Season...

Did you know that Sears supports the troops? You may not be aware of it, but Sears pays its active duty National Guard and Reserve employees the difference between their Sears salary and their military pay while they have been called up. They also maintain the employee benefits for these patriots. You can read about it at Snopes HERE. According to the article at Snopes they aren't the only ones who do this. HERE is a link to the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve website. They maintain a list of the other employers who maintain the same policy.

I am still on the warpath with Target stores over their ouster of the Salvation Army during the Christmas season. They won't be getting any of my money, but I will do whatever possible to spend some money at Sears. I hope you will too.

Another Reason Not To Live In Massachusetts

Local Boy Scouts Accused of Being Too 'Pro-War' In Cambridge, Massachusetts

Apparently the cradle of the American Revolution has taken a dovish turn. The descendants of the men that died at Bunker Hill and the Boston Massacre, the heirs of the Boston Tea Party have decided that Boy Scouts shouldn't be supporting the troops overseas. They're spinning in their graves. Secession is sounding better and better every day, y'all.

They were just trying to collect donations for American troops. But the Boy Scouts end up getting busted by the City of Cambridge. All their boxes were taken down at polling stations for being too "pro-war." FOX25's Ted Daniel reports from Cambridge with details.

You really ought to click HERE and watch the story if your blood pressure hasn't had a workout today.

Apparently, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry aren't the only lying bureaucrats in MA. (Yeah, yeah, I just KNOW you're shocked....) Anyway the lady in charge of pulling the plug claimed that they hadn't gotten permission before placing the donation boxes. LIE! According to the scoutmaster, they got permission TWICE before bringing out the collection boxes. Hmmm. I wonder which person I will believe. The politician? Or the Boy Scout? Hmmm...

Making matters worse is that only one person complained. One person brought about the end of the project. And even worse than that? The jerk was there to vote.

Coulter On McCarthy

Ann Coulter has an interesting article out about McCarthy sparked by a new book written on the subject. You can read the article HERE.

I was once talking with a friend about McCarthy and she stunned me by asking me what was wrong with Americans choosing to support Communism. The question struck me as absurd because there is nothing more antithetical to Democracy than Communism. The very pursuit of the one undermines the other. How could anyone pursue a communist agenda in America without committing treason?

Admittedly I need to learn a lot more about what happened during "McCarthyism," but my suspicion is that he was stopped too soon. I plan to read Coulter's Treason and the book Coulter referenced in her article, Blacklisted by History: The Untold Story of Senator Joe McCarthy and His Fight Against America's Enemies by M. Stanton Evans.

An Amazing Picture

I saw this picture over at Babalu Blog. With the picture was a great post by Val Prieto about his experience in Washington. Val is a great writer and I think that you will enjoy it very much. The title of the post is, Gracias

Good Progress

I have made very good progress on my web design project today. I finally have a layout that I am pleased with and will be putting the finishing touches on it tomorrow before I start showing it around some to get others' opinions. There is still much work to be done on it - like making the buttons work, finding the html widgets that I want, and actually publishing it to the site, but I am pleased that I seem to be learning the software at a reasonable pace. I am tired of sitting at the computer, but I am simultaneously pleased with the achieved result. I'm sure that I will be sharing it with you soon.

I have just completed 1776 by David McCullough. I've had it on my "to be read" list for over a year now and finally dove in. It wasn't quite the riveting read that I expected, but was good nonetheless.

I realized quickly how little I actually know about the the Revolutionary War. As a young boy (before I was 7 years old) I had a great interest in the stories about this war, most likely spurred on by re-runs of Daniel Boone. (No, I'm not quite old enough to have seen them first run.) Unfortunately, history books written about the Revolution at an elementary school reading level were pretty hard to come by back then. I doubt it is any different now. How many 7-year-olds are interested in Revolutionary history? I suppose a bit of my interest was also driven by the fact that I was 7-years-old in 1976.

One of the things that struck me as I read was that the British weren't the baby-eating demons that I had imagined them to be (at least not during the period of the war covered by the book - although there was mention of a number of atrocities carried out.) At times their generosity and concern for the well-being of "the colonies" was not unlike our own concern for those that our armies have encountered. The main fault of the British seemed to be their arrogance.

I was also struck by some of the similarities that I saw between America at the time of the Revolution and America today. The British were arrogantly secure in their belief that as the world's greatest superpower they couldn't be beaten by a ragamuffin army like the one fielded by America. They were wrong. There is no doubt in my mind that our military is the greatest on the earth, but we would do well to learn from the lesson we taught the British when they were in a similar situation.

Another similarity is that America was as greatly divided then as it is today. There were major fundamental differences between the Tories (or Loyalists) viewed things and the way that the Patriots (or Rebels) viewed things - Conservative versus Radical all over again. The only difference I would suggest is that the conservatives are on the right side this time. (I dare say they believed that they were on the right side that time!)

Politics was just as convoluted then as it is now. Nobody seemed capable to get anything done in Congress. We KNOW that hasn't changed.

Finally there was also the general apathy of the populace towards victory or defeat. The future lay in the hands of a handful of soldiers - some as young as 14. One quote by Colonel William Tudor about Washington struck me particularly. To his wife he wrote:

I cannot desert a man (and it would certainly be desertion in a court of honor) who has deserted everything to defend his country, and whose chief misfortune, among ten thousand others, is that a large part of it wants spirit to defend itself.

My, my, my, how history does repeat itself. His condemnation could have been written of the defeatists in the Congress, on the campaign trail, and in the media this year, self-serving cowards that they are. It is truly a shame that history is so neglected in our schools (and culture) today, and it is sad that so few realize the dear price payed for our liberties today.

God bless our troops and God bless America. Honor the veterans that you know this weekend.

A Humble Prayer

Father God, thank You for this wonderful country that I call home. It is truly a land that has seen Your favor and Your protection. Thank You for the beauty that can be found throughout this land. Thank You for the resources that You have placed at our command. Thank You for the prosperity that You have showered on this country. I am grateful for the freedoms that You have given to me and my countrymen. It is wonderful to be able to criticize flaws in the government without fear of death. It is a blessing to be able to worship You freely without fear of arrest or punishment. And it is amazing to have a say in who governs me.

Thank You also for the wise men that You sent to this country to set the foundations in place for this society in which we live. I am grateful that so many of them knew and trusted You and sought Your wisdom as they wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and the other laws that govern us. Please send us men of their character and wisdom today as we face challenges that were never foreseen by our forefathers. We need men of such vision, courage, wisdom, and piety to govern us again today.

I know that as a people we haven't always done the right things, and even today there are those who would even reject You from the place of honor that You have been given in our public life. Many desire to tear down the foundations and the pillars that hold our society up. Please forgive us for our failings and please cause these enemies to fail in their pursuits. Please help our country to truly turn to You and honestly put our trust in You. Let our land once again be seen as a city upon a hill. And let it be a place that gives You honor and serves You and brings You glory.

Please give our President and his staff wisdom and guide them as they govern us. Protect them and give them favor both at home and abroad and place their enemies under their feet. Finally, Lord, please protect our land and our military from our enemies. Thank You for Your good and holy care. Amen.

Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death

Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775

No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The questing before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.
Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.
I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us: they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free-- if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained--we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!
They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

 

Lucky Mud

I am often humbled by the heroics of those who have gone before me. When I read about the soldiers on both sides of the Mason Dixon line who marched across open fields into artillery and entrenched infantry to their certain deaths the magnitude of their bravery goes so far beyond my own comprehension. The same goes for those heroes who stormed Normandy 60 years ago.

Yesterday Peggy Noonan wrote the following words:

Television will be full of reports this weekend of the festivities surrounding the 60th anniversary of D-Day. This has me thinking of why we still talk about the invasion, why television news producers are certain we are interested, and why the programmers of movie channels believe we will want to see "The Longest Day" again, and "Saving Private Ryan."

The Normandy invasion was a great moment in history (brave men joining together to do the right thing) and a definitive moment (the Nazi hold on Europe was loosed; in less than a year Berlin would fall). These are reasons enough.

But there is this, too: We are human and love stories that show humanity as brave and selfless. It exalts us. We need to be exalted. It is hard to get up in the morning and pull on your socks and enter the day. It is hard to be a bus driver. But it is easier when you can think better of your passengers.

When you think man isn't much, when you think human beings are pretty low as beings go, it leaches love from you. It leaches love from your soul when you think we're all nothing much, we're dust in the wind, it's dog eat dog. When you can see us as more than that, it helps you enter each day. It helps you live. We think about D-Day, and Harry the King at Agincourt, and George Meade at Gettysburg, to help us live.

It is amazing that such fallen creatures are capable of anything good. Many who conquered at Omaha Beach were not Christian, just as many who fell there were; yet it is amazing to me that somehow that spark of the Divine that has been placed within us is never completely extinguished until we expire. (Now I’d have to admit that some people do a pretty good job of smothering it, though!)

I guess what I am getting at is “What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him?” (Psalm 8:4) I am staggered by the goodness of God. If only everyone could see this truth about Him. It would be a much better place if those that hated Him would simply give in to His love. (They'd end up in a much better place too!)