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With the release of the so-called Iraq Study Group's horrible "report," it seemed critical to me to remember 1776. No one living at the time could have predicted such a positive outcome for the then-colonies struggling to become a new nation. It's little known now, but not only did the Americans seeking independence have to fight the British, but often other Americans who did not want independence. The strife between the "Patriots" and "Tories" was often brutal, bloody and deadly. Go back with me and imagine how dark the times seemed to those living in the America of December 1776...
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.
Thomas Paine, The Crisis, December 23, 1776.
Three days after Paine published this first in a series of articles called, collectively, "The Crisis," General George Washington led his troops across the Delaware River in order to surprise the English and Hessian troops in the Battle of Trenton the day after Christmas 1776.
The weather was well below freezing, with a heavy snow cover. Washington and his army had suffered a series of disastrous defeats, including the loss of Boston, and the loss of the city and state of New York. The British chased the American army across New Jersey and into Pennsylvania. But despite all this; despite the immense odds against them, the ragged Continental Army won the Battle of Trenton. It was an enormous victory, both in real terms and in psychological terms, and gave a much-needed lift to the Revolutionary cause.
There were hard times and years of war still ahead, including the horrible winter at Valley Forge in 1777, but Trenton proved that the Americans could defeat the British and their mercenaries, the Hessians. Trenton bought Gen. Washington time to build a real army.
Although the differences between Iraq in 2001 and the fledgling United States in 1776 are great, there also are inescapable parallels. So, to the summer soldiers and sunshine patriots among us -- on both the Left and Right -- I offer this next Paine quote. It's not as widely known as the opening paragraph of "The Crisis," but it goes straight to the heart of what the American nation faces today:
THOSE who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must...undergo the fatigues of supporting it...It is not a field of a few acres of ground, but a cause, that we are defending, and whether we defeat the enemy in one battle, or by degrees, the consequences will be the same.
Thomas Pain, writing in Philadelphia, Sept. 12, 1777.
Paraphrasing Thomas Paine: Like Washington and his army in 1776, our current Commander-in-Chief, the armed forces he leads, and all Americans who stand with them, are winter soldiers who do not shrink from the service of their country even in dark, stormy times.
If you are a winter soldier, take a pen and piece of paper, write a few little words -- Mr. President, I support and pray for you and our troops. Put the note in an envelope addressed to:
The Hon. George W. Bush
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Slap a stamp on the envelope and mail it this week.
It's the least we winter soldiers can do.
"Oh, so you agree with the goal, ---just as long as it is easy to attain." ---So "dim"-ly predictable!
signed,
WINTER SOLDIER NORDP, REPORTING FOR DUTY, AMERICA!