I wanted to thank my friend Nickie Goomba for posting, What I need is a healthy dose of American History . Nickie can place a feather in his cap and call it macaroni for having given oxygen to the dying fires of liberty here in America.
The article contains journal entries by one of General Washington’s staff during the time leading up to the famous Battle of Trenton. I confess that one particular entry given Christmas day got to me, enough to well up tears.
“The regiments have had their evening parade, but instead of returning to their quarters are marching toward the ferry. It is fearfully cold and raw and a snow-storm is setting in. The wind is northeast and beats in the faces of the men. It will be a terrible night for the soldiers who have no shoes. Some of them have tied old rags around their feet; others are barefoot, but I have not heard a man complain. They are ready to suffer any hardship and die rather than give up their liberty.” (emphasis added)
What kind of men will endure extreme hardships; only those who believe that the cause is worth everything, to include their very lives. My question to "We The People"; how do we get it back, the vibrant spirit which will elevate and instill within “We The People” to do what ever is necessary to put our nation right?
I was going to include a reference to the movie, Mr. Roberts. After learning of Mr. Robert’s death, his never ending struggle to be in the thick of battle rather than stuck on a rusted out transport ship in the back waters of the Pacific, Doc read and posted a letter for all the men to see. Mr. Robert’s letter refers to the glorious Order of the Palm Tree Medal and thanks the crew for sustaining him through a difficult period and their going above and beyond the call of duty in helping him get transferred to a destroyer. Some of you might have jumped the gun, thinking I was referring to the fulminated mercury explosion in the laundry room; no, that would have taken this in the wrong direction.
Those who have earned the honor of wearing the Order of the Palm have learned the meaning of resolve; it’s not just a one time act intended to disrupt or gain attention. While the word resolve can still be found in the dictionary, do “We The People” take its meaning seriously or is it one of those hollow words to cover a moment of rage that gets put away when the sun goes down?
I have a tribute to 9/11 on my sidebar, a reminder that America was attacked by Muslim Terrorists intent on taking us down, regardless of how long it takes; the jihad is in effect. President Bush explained the word resolve in its proper context; but have we let that moment fade, unable to recall that we are involved in a bloody war?
I fear we’ve lost our resolve in defending our nation against foreign enemies. Our current administration has reclassified Extreme Islamic Terroristic enemies to a more politically correct mish-mash of double speak jargon in order to soften the way we perceive this “lessened threat”. Instead of being at war, now it’s called a man made event; war is such a terrible thing, let’s call it something else.
The movie, Clear and Present Danger, comes to mind as I continue with the idea of defending America against all enemies, foreign and domestic. The dying head of the intelligence group, played by James Earl Jones, reminded our hero, played by Harrison Ford, that he was charged with defending the country and the oath he took didn’t have an expiration date attached to it.
“You took an oath, not the one you took when you got this job; the one you took to defend our nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic; remember?”
Anyone who’s served in the military took this oath. Just because we no longer put on the uniform or live on the front lines in battle each day, rifle in hand, doesn’t mean we are absolved from the oath we took when we raised our arm to the square. I’d take that a step further, anyone who claims to be an American citizen, regardless of race, creed or color should feel the need to uphold such an oath, to defend our liberties and our freedoms from all enemies, foreign or domestic.
Have you been paying attention to what Congress, the Senate and the Oval Office have been doing to our nation? The men who forged our nation a couple of hundred years ago would have recognized this enemy; is it that hard for us to see the enemy within the gates? I keep hearing rumblings, the need for a return to the America intended by our founders; but what is the course of action "We The People" need to take, the defining effort which will provide the required resolve to take back our country from these usurpers?
I’m not advocating violent measures, at least not at this time. I throw that in because there are some at the fringe of “civilized society” who cringe at the thought of any kind of violence, to include speaking up when bullied. Well, if we are afraid to get in the face of these bullies and throw it back at them; we must not be worthy of the liberties provided in our founding documents. At what point will we be ready to stand up and take back America?
I mentioned once before hearing a return missionary’s account, a turning point in his life while serving the people of Tonga. The young man stood under an awning as the rains fell and gave him a feeling of despair, as if it was waste of time trying to meet and share the Gospel in that kind of weather.
His companion, a Tongan, looked him square in the face and reminded him of the pioneers who crossed the Great Plains back in his home country, miles and miles in the dead of winter. Many of them with worn out shoes or only pieces of cloth wrapped around their feet as the snow covered a rocky terrain. Did that stop them from doing what needed to be done? He then asked, “Are you going to let a little rain keep you from doing what you’re supposed to do?”
When our history is written, as it is here in our own journals, will there be an account which points to our resolve, a resolve to keep individual liberties and freedoms sacred or will there be only a reference to something we once had? The recorded words from General Washington’s staff officer haunts me as I close today’s ramblings.
“It will be a terrible night for the soldiers who have no shoes. Some of them have tied old rags around their feet; others are barefoot, but I have not heard a man complain. They are ready to suffer any hardship and die rather than give up their liberty.”
The article contains journal entries by one of General Washington’s staff during the time leading up to the famous Battle of Trenton. I confess that one particular entry given Christmas day got to me, enough to well up tears.
“The regiments have had their evening parade, but instead of returning to their quarters are marching toward the ferry. It is fearfully cold and raw and a snow-storm is setting in. The wind is northeast and beats in the faces of the men. It will be a terrible night for the soldiers who have no shoes. Some of them have tied old rags around their feet; others are barefoot, but I have not heard a man complain. They are ready to suffer any hardship and die rather than give up their liberty.” (emphasis added)
What kind of men will endure extreme hardships; only those who believe that the cause is worth everything, to include their very lives. My question to "We The People"; how do we get it back, the vibrant spirit which will elevate and instill within “We The People” to do what ever is necessary to put our nation right?
I was going to include a reference to the movie, Mr. Roberts. After learning of Mr. Robert’s death, his never ending struggle to be in the thick of battle rather than stuck on a rusted out transport ship in the back waters of the Pacific, Doc read and posted a letter for all the men to see. Mr. Robert’s letter refers to the glorious Order of the Palm Tree Medal and thanks the crew for sustaining him through a difficult period and their going above and beyond the call of duty in helping him get transferred to a destroyer. Some of you might have jumped the gun, thinking I was referring to the fulminated mercury explosion in the laundry room; no, that would have taken this in the wrong direction.
Those who have earned the honor of wearing the Order of the Palm have learned the meaning of resolve; it’s not just a one time act intended to disrupt or gain attention. While the word resolve can still be found in the dictionary, do “We The People” take its meaning seriously or is it one of those hollow words to cover a moment of rage that gets put away when the sun goes down?
I have a tribute to 9/11 on my sidebar, a reminder that America was attacked by Muslim Terrorists intent on taking us down, regardless of how long it takes; the jihad is in effect. President Bush explained the word resolve in its proper context; but have we let that moment fade, unable to recall that we are involved in a bloody war?
I fear we’ve lost our resolve in defending our nation against foreign enemies. Our current administration has reclassified Extreme Islamic Terroristic enemies to a more politically correct mish-mash of double speak jargon in order to soften the way we perceive this “lessened threat”. Instead of being at war, now it’s called a man made event; war is such a terrible thing, let’s call it something else.
The movie, Clear and Present Danger, comes to mind as I continue with the idea of defending America against all enemies, foreign and domestic. The dying head of the intelligence group, played by James Earl Jones, reminded our hero, played by Harrison Ford, that he was charged with defending the country and the oath he took didn’t have an expiration date attached to it.
“You took an oath, not the one you took when you got this job; the one you took to defend our nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic; remember?”
Anyone who’s served in the military took this oath. Just because we no longer put on the uniform or live on the front lines in battle each day, rifle in hand, doesn’t mean we are absolved from the oath we took when we raised our arm to the square. I’d take that a step further, anyone who claims to be an American citizen, regardless of race, creed or color should feel the need to uphold such an oath, to defend our liberties and our freedoms from all enemies, foreign or domestic.
Have you been paying attention to what Congress, the Senate and the Oval Office have been doing to our nation? The men who forged our nation a couple of hundred years ago would have recognized this enemy; is it that hard for us to see the enemy within the gates? I keep hearing rumblings, the need for a return to the America intended by our founders; but what is the course of action "We The People" need to take, the defining effort which will provide the required resolve to take back our country from these usurpers?
I’m not advocating violent measures, at least not at this time. I throw that in because there are some at the fringe of “civilized society” who cringe at the thought of any kind of violence, to include speaking up when bullied. Well, if we are afraid to get in the face of these bullies and throw it back at them; we must not be worthy of the liberties provided in our founding documents. At what point will we be ready to stand up and take back America?
I mentioned once before hearing a return missionary’s account, a turning point in his life while serving the people of Tonga. The young man stood under an awning as the rains fell and gave him a feeling of despair, as if it was waste of time trying to meet and share the Gospel in that kind of weather.
His companion, a Tongan, looked him square in the face and reminded him of the pioneers who crossed the Great Plains back in his home country, miles and miles in the dead of winter. Many of them with worn out shoes or only pieces of cloth wrapped around their feet as the snow covered a rocky terrain. Did that stop them from doing what needed to be done? He then asked, “Are you going to let a little rain keep you from doing what you’re supposed to do?”
When our history is written, as it is here in our own journals, will there be an account which points to our resolve, a resolve to keep individual liberties and freedoms sacred or will there be only a reference to something we once had? The recorded words from General Washington’s staff officer haunts me as I close today’s ramblings.
“It will be a terrible night for the soldiers who have no shoes. Some of them have tied old rags around their feet; others are barefoot, but I have not heard a man complain. They are ready to suffer any hardship and die rather than give up their liberty.”
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