"Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death!"

 

These passionate words were uttered by Patrick Henry when the British recognized Massachusetts as a rogue colony. The oppressive government waged war on Boston to set an example for other colonies to “fall in line.” What I have quoted here is a segment from the plea Henry made to be battle-ready in Virginia because the British would surely come for others next.
“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…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!”
As I reread Patrick Henry’s appeal to his colleagues, I get a chill down my spine. These ominous words echo through history as if to tenaciously haunt my mind. I find myself so disturbed that I have to become vocal; I must put up a fight before we find ourselves in a situation where our government wages a violent war on us…
Me, I love debate. Debate is great mental exercise and has become something of a habit of mine. I love prodding people’s minds and examining their thought processes looking for something I might find interesting enough to adopt (and, admittedly, there have been times I’m just looking for a proverbial punching bag after a few pops of liquid courage in a local watering hole…) I found myself one day, debating politics with an old teacher of mine. Well into the banter and discourse, I declared something he supported as “unconstitutional.” In my arrogance and egoism I was sure I had won the debate. I said the magic words, the end of all debates! I pretty much said “Do not go pass this point or you are essentially treading into un-American territory!” Haha. Until he came back with “Where in the Constitution does it say that?” I stuttered and stammered and tried to think quickly. How could I be so stupid as to debate an issue that, I suddenly realized, I understood very little? I went home that day and realized in order to defend The United States of America, I had to figure out what it was that I was trying to defend.
I have grown up and lived in Massachusetts my whole life. I acted like we MA citizens just had patriotism through legacy or birthright when it was really quite the opposite. Patriotism was the first thing I took for granted. As I walked the streets of Boston, I very rarely considered the ride of Paul Revere. I stared at the John Hancock building and pondered architecture and banking. I thought of Plymouth Rock as a tourist trap, Castle Island was a place to get a “wicked good” hot dog; a “Patriot” was an epic football player and Sam Adams was the world’s best beer. We locals joked how outsiders didn’t get the “real Massachusetts.” Well, shame on me; because neither did I.
What I realized is, I, myself, had become the personification of that foreboding adage of George Satayana, “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” I found myself embarrassed and ashamed that I could recall nothing from my education (if I were even taught correctly) of how The United States of America had come to be. I had even allowed myself to be tricked into thinking our founding fathers gave us a democracy and a political “party” system-which is farthest from the truth! It has taken some reading, some research, some pondering and a lot of humility. Mostly, it has taken the realization that this “freedom” purchased with blood of brave men on this soil could at any moment become all but a faint distant glimmer of hope in human history, swallowed by the dark sea of cynicism and oppression-leaving their courageous sacrifice in vain. I had allowed myself to be lulled into complacency, permitting corrupt politicians to pluck away at my heart strings and to guilt me into voting for more corruption. I used to naively assume that what our founders had purchased for us, with their blood sweat and tears, was a done deal. Iron clad. I had thought The United States of America today is the same system our founders had given us, and what I was experiencing was as good as it gets. If anything were ever actually to go horribly wrong, someone would stand up and stop it… I was dead wrong. I have put myself through some “partisan rehab” and I have overcome my political Stockholm syndrome.
I thank you in advance, countrymen, for lending me your ears (or eyes). I am excited to join the COTErack team. It is certainly exciting historic times where characters will undoubtedly be forged in fire, and I am glad to be here in this forum of ideas to share my perspective on things as I have come to understand them. I welcome your comments and critique. If you have any subjects or ideas to discuss, please feel free to let me know. God Bless you and God Bless The United States of America

These passionate words were uttered by Patrick Henry when the British recognized Massachusetts as a rogue colony. The oppressive government waged war on Boston to set an example for other colonies to “fall in line.” What I have quoted here is a segment from the plea Henry made to be battle-ready in Virginia because the British would surely come for others next.


“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…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!”


As I reread Patrick Henry’s appeal to his colleagues, I get a chill down my spine. These ominous words echo through history as if to tenaciously haunt my mind. I find myself so disturbed that I have to become vocal; I must put up a fight before we find ourselves in a situation where our government wages a violent war on us…


Me, I love debate. Debate is great mental exercise and has become something of a habit of mine. I love prodding people’s minds and examining their thought processes looking for something I might find interesting enough to adopt (and, admittedly, there have been times I’m just looking for a proverbial punching bag after a few pops of liquid courage in a local watering hole…) I found myself one day debating politics with an old teacher of mine. Well into the banter and discourse, I declared something he supported as “unconstitutional.” In my arrogance and egoism I was sure I had won the debate. I said the magic words, the end of all debates! I pretty much said “Do not go pass this point or you are essentially treading into un-American territory!” Haha. Until he came back with “Where in the Constitution does it say that?” I stuttered and stammered and tried to think quickly. How could I be so stupid as to debate an issue that, I suddenly realized, I understood very little? I went home that day and realized in order to defend The United States of America, I had to figure out what it was that I was trying to defend.


I have grown up and lived in Massachusetts my whole life. I acted like we MA citizens just had patriotism through legacy or birthright when it was really quite the opposite. Patriotism was the first thing I took for granted. As I walked the streets of Boston, I very rarely considered the ride of Paul Revere. I stared at the John Hancock building and pondered architecture and banking. I thought of Plymouth Rock as a tourist trap, Castle Island was a place to get a “wicked good” hot dog; a “Patriot” was an epic football player and Sam Adams was the world’s best beer. We locals joked how outsiders didn’t get the “real Massachusetts.” Well, shame on me; because neither did I.


What I realized is, I, myself, had become the personification of that foreboding adage of George Satayana, “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” I found myself embarrassed and ashamed that I could recall nothing from my education (if I were even taught correctly) of how The United States of America had come to be. I had even allowed myself to be tricked into thinking our founding fathers gave us a democracy and a political “party” system-which is farthest from the truth! It has taken some reading, some research, some pondering and a lot of humility. Mostly, it has taken the realization that this “freedom” purchased with blood of brave men on this soil could at any moment become all but a faint distant glimmer of hope in human history, swallowed by the dark sea of cynicism and oppression-leaving their courageous sacrifice in vain. I had allowed myself to be lulled into complacency, permitting corrupt politicians to pluck away at my heart strings and to guilt me into voting for more corruption. I used to naively assume that what our founders had purchased for us, with their blood sweat and tears, was a done deal. Iron clad. I had thought The United States of America today is the same system our founders had given us, and what I was experiencing was as good as it gets. If anything were ever actually to go horribly wrong, someone would stand up and stop it… I was dead wrong. I have put myself through some “partisan rehab” and I have overcome my political Stockholm syndrome.


I thank you in advance, countrymen, for lending me your ears (or eyes). I am excited to team up with Shane and get to work. It is certainly exciting, historic times where characters will undoubtedly be forged in fire, and I am glad to be here in this forum of ideas to share my perspective on things as I have come to understand them. I welcome your comments and critique. If you have any subjects or ideas to discuss, please feel free to let me know. God Bless you and God Bless The United States of America.

 

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