Posted on 04/29/2005 6:29:23 PM PDT by CHARLITE
It was 230 years ago this month when 700 British redcoats marched from Boston to Concord to seize rebel colonial war supplies and hopefully capture John Hancock and Samuel Adams during the incursion. They weren’t overly concerned about the rag-tag colonial farmer opposition who had dubbed themselves Minutemen. The name ’Minutemen‘ was derived from a vow that colonial farmers could and would be ready to fight for liberty within a minute’s notice.
What kind of threat could these Minutemen, tillers of soil, be to one of Europe’s finest armies? The Minutemen’s strength was just 70 men against some 700 regimented and disciplined professional soldiers. In the eyes of the British, the 21mile trek to Concord must have seemed a mere cakewalk.
Alerted by Paul Revere, the Minutemen used economy of force at the north Concord bridge and thwarted the British advance. In the face of unexpected opposition, the British commander aborted the mission and began an ill-fated return march back to Boston. The sharp-shooting Minutemen sniped at the redcoats throughout their withdrawal and the redcoats ultimately suffered some 250 dead and wounded. The expedition was a disaster for the British and a triumphant victory for the Minutemen.
The victory of the Minutemen of Massachusetts was arguably the single most important military engagement of the entire Revolutionary War. It undoubtedly gave the colonials the will and the confidence to continue the struggle for freedom. Colonials wanted an independent, self-sustaining country, free from being taxed to sustain peoples from another country. They had migrated to gain religious freedom. Now they were fighting for economic independence.
Fast-forward 230 years. Modern-era Minutemen emerge again in Arizona! These Minutemen (about 1,000 volunteers) like most Americans, are simply tired of waiting for Washington to deliver meaningful immigration reform. They chose to become doers, not watchers and whiners. And in so doing , the Arizona Minutemen have captured the awe, admiration, and gratitude of their countrymen. More importantly, they have transmitted a loud and clear message to Washington lawmakers - “You had better put your priorities in the interest of America’s security and economy.”
The Arizona Minutemen have won their battle. Now it’s time to see what Washington can do to win the war. And make no mistake about it - we are at war. In 1965, America declared War on Poverty. In the following three decades our government spent 3.5 trillion dollars to rid America of poverty and failed. During the mid-nineties, Washington leadership and lawmakers conceded that the war on poverty was lost and bipartisan initiatives (better days, to be sure) were taken to end welfare. Now, less than a decade after patting ourselves on the back for ending welfare, we’ve taken on a new kind of welfare. We are actually subsidizing illegal aliens and their insidious invasion of our social and health services as well as our education and judicial systems. As Yogi says, “It’s déjà vu all over again!”
It was January 2004 when President Bush proposed his guest worker program. He asked Congress to work with him to achieve significant immigration reform. Many considered his proposal an amnesty program, yet he specifically cited his opposition to rewarding illegal behavior within his proposal. Again, during his State of the Union Address on February 2, 2005, President Bush declared (with a following thunderous applause) that “our immigration system is outdated--unsuited to the needs of our economy and to the values of our country…..it is time for an immigration policy that permits temporary guest workers to fill jobs that Americans will not take, that rejects amnesty, that tells us who is entering and leaving our country, and that closes the border to drug dealers and terrorists.”
Yet, what has been accomplished in the interim by our lawmakers? Unfortunately, lots of talk and not much action. I salute my two Georgia Senators, Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss, for their aggressive and tenacious pursuit in trying to rally Congressional support in fighting for immigration reform. But, there are other battles our lawmakers are engaged in that apparently take precedence. For instance, the judicial nominations, the UN nomination, Social Security reform, war on terrorism, and America’s energy policy. Sure, these are important issues, but what is more important in our capitalistic society than our economy and our security?
It is indeed discomforting to watch the partisan fiasco that erupts on every single issue addressed by our lawmakers. And when immigration reform is finally put on the front burner you can bet your bottom dollar that the catfight will continue.
I am chagrined that I must criticize President Bush on three counts, something foreign for these humble fingers that peck out a political Rant. First, he signed the U.S. Terrorism Reform and Prevention Act of 2004 which would hike our border patrol by 2000 more agents. That’s the good news. The bad news is that he only funded 210 in his 2006 budget. Secondly, President Bush seems enamored with President Vincente Fox. Yet, Vincente didn’t support our effort in Iraq, doesn’t assist us in securing our common border and, in fact, enables illegal immigration by publishing a handbook on how to steal away into the land of plenty. Of course, plenty of plenty finds its way back to Mexico (exceeding what Mexico yields in both tourism and foreign investor revenues). Finally, my favorite president of all-time called our Arizona Minutemen “Vigilantes.” That stung…..Big Time!
My concern now is that the Democrats will seize the opportunity to capitalize on an issue that the party in the majority should shoulder. Remember, President Clinton was given credit for ‘Ending Welfare’ when it was that conservative revolutionary, Newt Gingrich, who should have been credited for sending welfare to its long overdue Waterloo. Bill’s bedmate (perhaps), in her recent transition to become a political moderate, could very well override the ACLU on this issue and ultimately claim credit for finally achieving immigration reform. Whoever claims credit for immigration reform might very well claim the White House in 2008. A word to the wise, Mr. President….it’s okay to be compassionate, just don’t become complacent!
In the meantime, we should honor not only those uniformed grunts in Afghanistan and Iraq who are fighting our war against terrorism, but also those Arizona Minutemen who are fighting our war against illegal immigration. They are not vigilantes. They are patriots that want what’s best for America. Most of us do.
About the Writer: Robert Lanzotti attended the University of Illinois on a football scholarship from 1955-1960. Through the ROTC program, he was commissioned into the Regular Army as a second lieutenant in 1960 and retired as a lieutenant colonel twenty-five years later. Robert was an Airborne Ranger and a Master Army Aviator. During his two tours in Vietnam he flew more than 1,000 hours of combat helicopter time and was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses, four Bronze Stars, and twenty-four Air Medals. He commanded a helicopter unit within the 1st Cavalry Division and served as operations officer of the Army's largest divisional aviation group. Robert served fours years on the Army General Staff at the Pentagon.
His formal education includes: University of Illinois, BS, ALS; Hampton University, MA, Ed. Admin.; and Marymount University, ME, Ed. Robert also graduated from the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, VA. Today, Robert is an elementary school teacher in Smyrna, a suburb of Atlanta, where he lives with his wife Vicki and their golden retriever, Rocky.
Comments: rlanzotti@mindspring.com
Hillary alert !!
Worth a bump or two. Good recap.
I wrote about militarizing the border a couple of times on my own blog, Old Patriot's Pen. I haven't posted anything on the Minutemen because I'm still researching the entire US/Mexico border theme. So far, I've downloaded 884mb of data, and that's not all by any means. As a retire AF NCO, I'm willing to be "recalled, rearmed, and recycled" to guard our southern border. Of course, that will only encourage the terrorists to use our northern border, which is equally porous and poorly defended. Canada isn't QUITE as bad as Mexico, but only because most Canadians still want to live there, even under a Liberal government.
"Canada isn't QUITE as bad as Mexico, but only because most Canadians still want to live there, even under a Liberal government."
Unless they become famous and/or get rich.
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