thedrifter
11-09-05, 07:30 AM
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
The Men of 1776
by Guy Adams
We have lost our common sense and our sense of honor. It used to be that a man’s word was his bond. In a country where Christianity has been downgraded to a back alley appetite, laws have rushed in to fill the void. Where no moral certainties exist, legal restraint becomes a necessity.
Look at the present situation in France. More than two weeks of meaningless violence and rioting, most of it is being committed by Muslims. Are Muslims entirely to blame? Not entirely, although some evidence is coming to light that some of this inexcusable and riotous behavior was not spontaneous, but to an extent – planned. Maybe they were simply waiting for an excuse?
In the current American discourse, very few people are willing to point to the root of the problem, that France is getting a mere foretaste of what they helped create by their decades of secularism, sexualism and socialism. It’s but a foreshadow of what’s to come, should France – or any country – persist in the entitlement culture of moral relativism and inclusiveness, to the exclusion of all else. Merit has merit, so to speak, and I don’t need to walk in your shoes to know that your behavior is wrong.
Is Paris burning? Maybe it should be. A nation once known for Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, as well as the Age of Enlightenment, has turned into a nation of Decadence, Depravity and Insignificance. The new Age of Inclusiveness has alienated and excluded the good among us. It has marginalized the excellent; it has demonized the moral. This is nothing new. It is happening here in America too. It’s been happening over the last forty years or so, but only a few among us have bothered to speak out strongly or often enough. We are only a blink away from the French. We are well on our way to the Eve of Destruction. We have genuflected to the Left for far too long. It is time for this dance to end.
Mark my words: America is in for much of the same or worse, if we don’t change – and fast. The decades of increasing Liberalism and moral relativism have left American but a shadow (a “penumbra”, as the Supreme Court so arrogantly pined) of its former glory. We still lead the world, but now we lead in decadent areas like Gansta rap, porn, gay ‘rights’ and all manner of permissiveness and gratification. I’m not judging here – I’ve been part of the problem too. But we all need to wake up.
We’re not just a sleeping giant as many suggest – America has become a giant made sick by years of self indulgence in all manner of ill begotten pleasures. Author Sam Tsang says that “We are not the sleeping giants that we flatter ourselves to be. Rather, we are a fat and sick giant, made obese by secularism and our national rejection of God.” Yep, we still lead the world, but we’re leading it into a dark valley where light barely penetrates. The deeper we go, the less the light. You see where I’m going with this. At some point, we’ll not be able to find our way out. Worse yet, we’ll get accustomed to living in darkness and eating from the filthy valley floor. After a while, it might all even seem pleasurable.
Darwin (until he was on his deathbed) talked amorously about evolution, and he was more right than he could have known: we as a people are de-evolving, becoming less civilized, less wise, less able to control our lower natures and society as a whole. We have become lost within ourselves.
I’ve searched for some time for an appropriate military analogy to illustrate our present crisis and the desired response to it. I thought of D-Day or the Battle of the Bulge. All grave and desperate battles to be sure, but not quite what I was looking for. The answer was before me all the while, yet I failed to see it. After reading the excellent book “1776” by David McCullough, it hit me.
But first, some history: The American Revolutionary War was fought in the years 1775–1782, with the critical year being 1776. The winning of this war with England gave us our freedom, and established us as an independent nation. Prior to the war, the soldiers of America’s revolution were comfortable in their everyday lives. More than two thirds of them did want the upcoming struggle with England. Many were loyal to the king. Most of them were untrained in the arts of war. After the conflict started and well into the war, the father of our country, George Washington, had still never led men into combat! We were short on supplies and we lacked sufficient weapons. Britannia ruled the waves. England was the greatest military power on earth and we had no navy (or army) to speak of. In the minds of many, we were nothing more than untrained rabble. England looked on us and our situation in 1776 with complete disdain.
My friends, that’s exactly where we find ourselves today.
To the British, the men of 1776 (as I like to call them) appeared to be an untrained, undisciplined and uncommitted group of rebels. To the forces of moral relativism and secularism seeking to destroy and reshape our country today, we must likewise appear to be an untrained and uncommitted force. Well, maybe we are untrained and under mobilized, but George Washington’s army still won the day after much travail and so will we, if we step up the fight with great resolve. Many of us have never been in a fight like this before, but neither were most of them.
Just like the men of 1776, many of us simply don’t want the fight. Neither do I. And like many of them, we may not even yet believe wholeheartedly in the justness of the cause. (Or if we do, we can’t see any way we could win.) We are in the thick of it anyway. How we respond will determine the future of America. Did the men of 1776 fight and die in vain? Will this era in our history be the death of the West or the rise of the best?
Also like the men of 1776, we tend to perceive ourselves as lacking enough of the proper tools. Enemy forces like the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, various homosexual advocacy groups, and People for the American Way among others, are arrayed against us with huge monetary war chests and decades of legal experience. They are well organized and committed. They attack based on emotion rather than reason because they have no valid line of reasoning. Look at all the attention they’ve been giving to inconsequential things like Abu Ghraib. We’re actually compromising the war on terror to appease our critics under the wicked guise of political correctness! It has nothing to do with reality. It is an illusion. We’ve grown weak and spineless. Our national backbone has grown soft and inadequate. We are giving away the store.
Like the English in 1776, they believe they are in the right; but they are not. The British continued to abuse and extort the colonials more and more, and like the English, modern Liberals have mutated from once being a good and sincere force, into a tyranny bent on crushing all rebellion. Will we continue to allow this miniscule minority to sacrifice America on the altars of tolerance and secularism?
In the Battle for New York, 1776, the outnumbered Americans were surrounded by the British and forced to flee. Likewise, we have been running from the forces of immorality and secularism for years. No more. Here we must stand and now we must fight.
According to the military tradition of that time, the British won the earlier battle of Bunker Hill because at the end of the day they had possession of the battlefield. We may have taken some severe hits in our modern day Bunker Hill, but we will have our Yorktown!
American General Henry Knox said in 1776 “There can be but one choice consistent with the character of a people possessing at least a degree of reason. And that is to separate – to separate from the people who from a total dissolution of virtue among them, must be our enemies – an event which I devoutly pray may soon take place; and let it be as soon as may be.” How perceptive. There can indeed be but one choice consistent with the character of a people possessing at least a degree of reason: we must vigorously oppose our foes. The apostle Paul said in 1st Corinthians 10:15 “I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say.” Judge for yourselves, but judge rightly.
At some point – yea, at this point, it should be perfectly obvious to us that appeasement and negotiation with our enemies are no longer options. They don’t work. Like the men of 1776, the only option now open to us is war. Hopefully, it will remain a war in the courts and in the democratic process of electing legislators and government leaders who will demand the reclaiming of America. In this period of onslaught, we must not flinch. We must not be deterred or intimidated. And, most importantly, we must not quit until the battle is won.
Abortion is the disgrace of modern America – it is the man-made holocaust of our day. General Washington said on July 2nd, 1776, “The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army.” On us, on you and I, the fate of unborn millions rests.
We are now in the winter of our discontent – our individual and collective Valley Forge. At Valley Forge, General Washington rightly wondered “If the army does not get help soon, will we fold and disband, or boldly march forward?” Some of our more petty disagreements must be put aside. We must unite and remain united, for the battle ahead will be tough enough.
At Valley Forge there was cold, hunger, disease, and despair. Raw winter weather stung and numbed the soldiers. Food was almost nonexistent. The future promised only more desperation, starvation and death. Some simply couldn't take the cold, hunger, and uncertainty any longer. Every day and night death and disease descended upon the American volunteers. Relief was no where to be found. It was so bad that even the energy to find relief was scarce. Desertions were commonplace and such apostasy is evident in America today as well. Many have abandoned the fight. I too, have wanted to abandon the fight because it seems like most Americans are not listening, but I have found reason to continue the fight. The men of 1776 inspire me. I will not yield and I will not give up.
In the midst of their misery at Valley Forge, God did not abandon them, nor will He abandon us if we look to Him for help. At the worst point of that forging and transforming winter, General Nathanael Greene somehow found the desperately needed food and supplies. Almost overnight, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Augustus von Steuben assisted General Washington in transforming the threadbare American rabble into a determined and disciplined fighting force that would soon defeat the greatest military power and threat to American liberty on earth. We will do the same if we persevere.
At Valley Forge, we read of words like "misery" and "sacrifice". The concept of suffering for freedom isn't always easy to understand in our modern age. Battle is not something we want to embrace. Nevertheless, and just as in 1776, it is a reality that it is now at our very doorsteps. Like the young America of 1776, it threatens our very existence
In June of 1778, after many months of what looked to most like a winter defeat coming on the wings of fate, a new army was born out of great trial and necessity, and they were eager to defeat the British. This new American army streamed out of Valley Forge toward New Jersey on the wings of Providence. They had been transformed from a band of ragtag rebels into a fighting force that changed America and later the world. We will do the same if we do not grow weary. Nay, we must go beyond even that, to look into our own Valley Forge. We must endure and then emerge a force that will take back America from the enemies who seek to shape her into something the men of 1776 would not recognize and in fact, abhor.
They speak to us from the ages; from the blood soaked fields of Bunker Hill, Long Island and ultimately Yorktown, they call out bold and timeless words of encouragement to us. Their deeds speak volumes. We must force ourselves to remain in the fight and move forward, step by step, until victory is won.
Therefore, we are not without example in the fight for our nation. During the Revolutionary War, Congress minted a gold medal in Washington’s honor, accurately stating that “…an undisciplined band of husbandmen, in the course of a few months, became soldiers.”
Stay in the fight.
Ellie
The Men of 1776
by Guy Adams
We have lost our common sense and our sense of honor. It used to be that a man’s word was his bond. In a country where Christianity has been downgraded to a back alley appetite, laws have rushed in to fill the void. Where no moral certainties exist, legal restraint becomes a necessity.
Look at the present situation in France. More than two weeks of meaningless violence and rioting, most of it is being committed by Muslims. Are Muslims entirely to blame? Not entirely, although some evidence is coming to light that some of this inexcusable and riotous behavior was not spontaneous, but to an extent – planned. Maybe they were simply waiting for an excuse?
In the current American discourse, very few people are willing to point to the root of the problem, that France is getting a mere foretaste of what they helped create by their decades of secularism, sexualism and socialism. It’s but a foreshadow of what’s to come, should France – or any country – persist in the entitlement culture of moral relativism and inclusiveness, to the exclusion of all else. Merit has merit, so to speak, and I don’t need to walk in your shoes to know that your behavior is wrong.
Is Paris burning? Maybe it should be. A nation once known for Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, as well as the Age of Enlightenment, has turned into a nation of Decadence, Depravity and Insignificance. The new Age of Inclusiveness has alienated and excluded the good among us. It has marginalized the excellent; it has demonized the moral. This is nothing new. It is happening here in America too. It’s been happening over the last forty years or so, but only a few among us have bothered to speak out strongly or often enough. We are only a blink away from the French. We are well on our way to the Eve of Destruction. We have genuflected to the Left for far too long. It is time for this dance to end.
Mark my words: America is in for much of the same or worse, if we don’t change – and fast. The decades of increasing Liberalism and moral relativism have left American but a shadow (a “penumbra”, as the Supreme Court so arrogantly pined) of its former glory. We still lead the world, but now we lead in decadent areas like Gansta rap, porn, gay ‘rights’ and all manner of permissiveness and gratification. I’m not judging here – I’ve been part of the problem too. But we all need to wake up.
We’re not just a sleeping giant as many suggest – America has become a giant made sick by years of self indulgence in all manner of ill begotten pleasures. Author Sam Tsang says that “We are not the sleeping giants that we flatter ourselves to be. Rather, we are a fat and sick giant, made obese by secularism and our national rejection of God.” Yep, we still lead the world, but we’re leading it into a dark valley where light barely penetrates. The deeper we go, the less the light. You see where I’m going with this. At some point, we’ll not be able to find our way out. Worse yet, we’ll get accustomed to living in darkness and eating from the filthy valley floor. After a while, it might all even seem pleasurable.
Darwin (until he was on his deathbed) talked amorously about evolution, and he was more right than he could have known: we as a people are de-evolving, becoming less civilized, less wise, less able to control our lower natures and society as a whole. We have become lost within ourselves.
I’ve searched for some time for an appropriate military analogy to illustrate our present crisis and the desired response to it. I thought of D-Day or the Battle of the Bulge. All grave and desperate battles to be sure, but not quite what I was looking for. The answer was before me all the while, yet I failed to see it. After reading the excellent book “1776” by David McCullough, it hit me.
But first, some history: The American Revolutionary War was fought in the years 1775–1782, with the critical year being 1776. The winning of this war with England gave us our freedom, and established us as an independent nation. Prior to the war, the soldiers of America’s revolution were comfortable in their everyday lives. More than two thirds of them did want the upcoming struggle with England. Many were loyal to the king. Most of them were untrained in the arts of war. After the conflict started and well into the war, the father of our country, George Washington, had still never led men into combat! We were short on supplies and we lacked sufficient weapons. Britannia ruled the waves. England was the greatest military power on earth and we had no navy (or army) to speak of. In the minds of many, we were nothing more than untrained rabble. England looked on us and our situation in 1776 with complete disdain.
My friends, that’s exactly where we find ourselves today.
To the British, the men of 1776 (as I like to call them) appeared to be an untrained, undisciplined and uncommitted group of rebels. To the forces of moral relativism and secularism seeking to destroy and reshape our country today, we must likewise appear to be an untrained and uncommitted force. Well, maybe we are untrained and under mobilized, but George Washington’s army still won the day after much travail and so will we, if we step up the fight with great resolve. Many of us have never been in a fight like this before, but neither were most of them.
Just like the men of 1776, many of us simply don’t want the fight. Neither do I. And like many of them, we may not even yet believe wholeheartedly in the justness of the cause. (Or if we do, we can’t see any way we could win.) We are in the thick of it anyway. How we respond will determine the future of America. Did the men of 1776 fight and die in vain? Will this era in our history be the death of the West or the rise of the best?
Also like the men of 1776, we tend to perceive ourselves as lacking enough of the proper tools. Enemy forces like the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, various homosexual advocacy groups, and People for the American Way among others, are arrayed against us with huge monetary war chests and decades of legal experience. They are well organized and committed. They attack based on emotion rather than reason because they have no valid line of reasoning. Look at all the attention they’ve been giving to inconsequential things like Abu Ghraib. We’re actually compromising the war on terror to appease our critics under the wicked guise of political correctness! It has nothing to do with reality. It is an illusion. We’ve grown weak and spineless. Our national backbone has grown soft and inadequate. We are giving away the store.
Like the English in 1776, they believe they are in the right; but they are not. The British continued to abuse and extort the colonials more and more, and like the English, modern Liberals have mutated from once being a good and sincere force, into a tyranny bent on crushing all rebellion. Will we continue to allow this miniscule minority to sacrifice America on the altars of tolerance and secularism?
In the Battle for New York, 1776, the outnumbered Americans were surrounded by the British and forced to flee. Likewise, we have been running from the forces of immorality and secularism for years. No more. Here we must stand and now we must fight.
According to the military tradition of that time, the British won the earlier battle of Bunker Hill because at the end of the day they had possession of the battlefield. We may have taken some severe hits in our modern day Bunker Hill, but we will have our Yorktown!
American General Henry Knox said in 1776 “There can be but one choice consistent with the character of a people possessing at least a degree of reason. And that is to separate – to separate from the people who from a total dissolution of virtue among them, must be our enemies – an event which I devoutly pray may soon take place; and let it be as soon as may be.” How perceptive. There can indeed be but one choice consistent with the character of a people possessing at least a degree of reason: we must vigorously oppose our foes. The apostle Paul said in 1st Corinthians 10:15 “I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say.” Judge for yourselves, but judge rightly.
At some point – yea, at this point, it should be perfectly obvious to us that appeasement and negotiation with our enemies are no longer options. They don’t work. Like the men of 1776, the only option now open to us is war. Hopefully, it will remain a war in the courts and in the democratic process of electing legislators and government leaders who will demand the reclaiming of America. In this period of onslaught, we must not flinch. We must not be deterred or intimidated. And, most importantly, we must not quit until the battle is won.
Abortion is the disgrace of modern America – it is the man-made holocaust of our day. General Washington said on July 2nd, 1776, “The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army.” On us, on you and I, the fate of unborn millions rests.
We are now in the winter of our discontent – our individual and collective Valley Forge. At Valley Forge, General Washington rightly wondered “If the army does not get help soon, will we fold and disband, or boldly march forward?” Some of our more petty disagreements must be put aside. We must unite and remain united, for the battle ahead will be tough enough.
At Valley Forge there was cold, hunger, disease, and despair. Raw winter weather stung and numbed the soldiers. Food was almost nonexistent. The future promised only more desperation, starvation and death. Some simply couldn't take the cold, hunger, and uncertainty any longer. Every day and night death and disease descended upon the American volunteers. Relief was no where to be found. It was so bad that even the energy to find relief was scarce. Desertions were commonplace and such apostasy is evident in America today as well. Many have abandoned the fight. I too, have wanted to abandon the fight because it seems like most Americans are not listening, but I have found reason to continue the fight. The men of 1776 inspire me. I will not yield and I will not give up.
In the midst of their misery at Valley Forge, God did not abandon them, nor will He abandon us if we look to Him for help. At the worst point of that forging and transforming winter, General Nathanael Greene somehow found the desperately needed food and supplies. Almost overnight, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Augustus von Steuben assisted General Washington in transforming the threadbare American rabble into a determined and disciplined fighting force that would soon defeat the greatest military power and threat to American liberty on earth. We will do the same if we persevere.
At Valley Forge, we read of words like "misery" and "sacrifice". The concept of suffering for freedom isn't always easy to understand in our modern age. Battle is not something we want to embrace. Nevertheless, and just as in 1776, it is a reality that it is now at our very doorsteps. Like the young America of 1776, it threatens our very existence
In June of 1778, after many months of what looked to most like a winter defeat coming on the wings of fate, a new army was born out of great trial and necessity, and they were eager to defeat the British. This new American army streamed out of Valley Forge toward New Jersey on the wings of Providence. They had been transformed from a band of ragtag rebels into a fighting force that changed America and later the world. We will do the same if we do not grow weary. Nay, we must go beyond even that, to look into our own Valley Forge. We must endure and then emerge a force that will take back America from the enemies who seek to shape her into something the men of 1776 would not recognize and in fact, abhor.
They speak to us from the ages; from the blood soaked fields of Bunker Hill, Long Island and ultimately Yorktown, they call out bold and timeless words of encouragement to us. Their deeds speak volumes. We must force ourselves to remain in the fight and move forward, step by step, until victory is won.
Therefore, we are not without example in the fight for our nation. During the Revolutionary War, Congress minted a gold medal in Washington’s honor, accurately stating that “…an undisciplined band of husbandmen, in the course of a few months, became soldiers.”
Stay in the fight.
Ellie