Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace.

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!

I was involved in a heated debate with a co-worker about the recent events.....and I put some points he made out for general comment, analysis, and discussion (read: don't kill the messenger):

1) This attack was directed at the American elites: The WTC and the intended governmental targets in DC were chosen by the terrorists as a fairly obvious attack upon our nation's financial and political elite. The terrorists did not fly a plane into the Mayberry Rotary Club.

2) This attack was supported by many people in the Middle East who believe that they have legitimate grievances against the behavior of the American elites: Madeline Albright, in an interview several months ago, stated that she was perfectly OK with the idea that 5000 Iraqi children were dying every month due to the US-led sanctions. The US has unfailingly supported Israel in its actions against the Palestinians, which the Arabs despise.

The difference between an isolated criminal and a genocidal terrorist group is that the latter exploits legitimate grievances to curry popular support for his actions. The activites of our elites have given Osama support that he would otherwise not have.

3) The elites despise the American people: A reccuring theme on FR is the dawning reality that the American elites in DC, NY, and LA do not like the masses of middle class america. They sneer at us in their cocktail parties, defame us in their publications, and occasionally run us down in their Mercedes SUVs (see Lizzy Grubman).

4) Mass third world immigration was one of a variety of weapons that the aforementioned elites have cooked up to dispossess the american middle class: The economic elite in this country simply do not like the american worker's expectation of wages and benefits. And the political elite simply do not like the american middle class' annoying attachment to the Bill of Rights and the ideals of limited government.

One answer that the elites have devised to deal with this is mass third world immigration. Peasants from various developing countries will work for a lot less (thus assuring the elites a wider profit margin), and these peasants vote for socialism (and, since they were used to getting kicked around by their government in the third world, they won't object to getting kicked around by our elites here).

5) These attackers represent an elite weapon backfiring:

This wasn't supposed to happen. The third world immigrants were supposed to be docile peons who would vote for unlimited governmental power and who would work for peanuts. Unfortunately, the elites miscalculated. They imported a population group that has other, superstition-based/theology-based hatred of America and its elites. And they probably can't be bought off with affirmative action and food stamps (a la Jesse Jackson).

6) The elite is now turning to the only force in America capable of saving it and avenging it:

Look at the pictures of the heroes of flight 97. Watch the tape of Bush with the fireman at the WTC. Look at the TV coverage of the fireman and police. Who are these people? Has anyone noticed a striking lack of diversity? What about the special forces?

The elite TV and print media has been gushing over a certain group of people who, not 3 weeks ago, they generally considered to be the cause of all evil in the world. Why?

The answer is obvious. The elite cannot allow this event to go unanswered. They certainly aren't going to go to Afghanistan themselves and take revenge (and they aren't going to allow their kids to go either). They have imported vast numbers of third world immigrants whose only loyalty is to what they can get out of the country. Those folks aren't going to be of much use either. So....what is the answer?

Simply put, the elites must pump up the dreaded rednecks and point them in the direction of the enemy. Sure, many of them won't come back....but sacrifices have to be made.

Bump for contemplation. I posted this on 9/26/01 and it is still relevant. Some people define peace as the absence of armed conflict; in other words, they confuse "peace" with "calm". Some people want "peace" (calm) at ANY price. But Patrick Henry's words are relevant right now. There is no peace.

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?

This is the way France and Germany, and all the other anti-capitalist, anti-free market, anti-free enterprise, anti-common sense ideologues both foreign and domestic would have us behave, make no mistake about it, because the U.S. stands for everything they are against. They want us bound hand and foot. If they had any cojones at all, they'd try and do it themselves. As it is, they don't really care how it is accomplished as long as they can see the mighty U.S. laid low and no longer blocking their nefarious schemes.

We're already forced to play nice-nice with one tinpot lunatic dictator with his finger on the button. I for one am not willing to wait around for another one to get his hands on a nuclear bomb to blackmail the world. And I'm not willing to bow and scrape to a bunch of goons who want to blow themselves up and take a bunch of innocent civilians with them, and I'm not willing to forfeit our power to a bunch of appeasers.

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