WAKE UP AMERICA
“These are the times that try men’s souls.” These words were penned by pamphleteer, Tomas Paine in the bitter winter of 1776. The article was one of several pamphlets published by Paine during the Revolutionary War 1776-1783. He had earlier published a 45- page pamphlet, titled Common Sense, which explained and justified the reasons why the colonies should break away from England and form a Democratic Republic, the form of government under which we are now governed, and which is under attack and threatened to be, forever ended unless we patriots resist by all the powers within us.
When the pamphlet, one of a series called The Crisis (or The American Crisis) was published, about December 18, 1776, the Continental Army was in disarray and demoralized after a crushing defeat in the Battle of Long Island. Washington’s army had lost 90 percent of its soldiers, most of whom simply went home, leaving only about 2,400 men under Washington’s immediate command, the enlistments of whom were set to expire on December 31, 1776. The army was ill equipped with weapons, had poor rations, and few had warm clothing suitable to the bitter cold. Many of the men had no shoes and were forced to wrap their feet in rags for an ensuing battle against the Hessian mercenaries and British specialists encamped in Trenton, New Jersey.
Washington planned to surprise the Hessians by crossing the Delaware River in severe weather, arriving on Christmas Eve, but the weather worsened and delayed the crossing and attack until Christmas day. Two days before commencing his march toward Trenton, Washington read the pamphlet, which began with: These are the times that try men’s souls and continued with: 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. As evidenced by the defeat of the Hessians, the pamphlet had the desired effect. Enlistments improved because soldiers then believed the British could be defeated.
The crisis we face today is another American crisis and just as serious, just as deadly as the threats of British soldiers and their hired Hessians. Today, we are not threatened by the weapons of a hostile army, but who can say that will not soon come unless we stand up for what is right. Every day, we see attacks on our freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the freedom to own and carry a gun, as guaranteed by the first and second amendments. We are constantly inundated with left-wing, anti-American sloganeering and propaganda akin to that launched against the Jews by Hitler and Goebel in Germany and Eastern Europe during the 1930s and 1940s. There is a continuing move afoot to deprive us of means to communicate and counteract the efforts from the left to destroy our republic. Elected officials, from Joe Biden to Nancy Pelosi, to Chuck Schumer are attempting to establish one-party rule in this country that will, forevermore, make people who appreciate our history, honor our heroes, and salute our flag outcasts in our own country.
Our press, in all its forms, has been corrupted. Journalism is dead. Those, who dare to call themselves journalists or who have a degree in communications spout their prejudices on television and social media or publish them as legitimate news. These so-called reporters would not recognize an unbiased story if it blew up in their posteriors. Most of them cannot discern the subjective case of a pronoun from an objective case. But these are the people controlling social media, television, movies, magazines, radio and every other medium once available and basically fair to everyone. These are the people who helped elect a walking dead man as president of the United States and left open the possibility that our country will soon be under the control of a vindictive, unqualified, untruthful woman from California who allegedly slept her way to the vice-presidency and who now waits with bated breath for the demise of a dimwitted Joe Biden. This woman, like Barack Hussein Obama, was not raised in this country, but dares to tell real Americans how they should live, think, and feel. We must make it clear to Kamala Harris that we are in no mood to listen to her or to ever consider her a legitimate president of our United States.
We cannot sit idle while the left erases our history, tears down our statues, demeans our heroes, and diminishes our accomplishments as a nation. We must resist the destruction and banning of books and classic movies, which do not fit the molds now prescribed by the Woke generation. We must fight against thought police who are attempting to reeducate us and our children through the process they label as Critical Race Theory.
Yes, these are critical times, times that try the souls of men and women who love this country and want it preserved for their progeny. We are not yet shivering in bitter cold weather. Our feet are not yet bleeding from walking in snow on harsh trails without shoes. But those days may be coming soon unless we stand firm and resist every effort made by the left to deprive us of our rights to liberty and the pursuit of happiness, our right to think and to speak as a free people. We have no use for summer soldiers and sunshine patriots. We must be brave and unafraid to show our patriotism and to speak the truth no matter how stormy or inclement the weather we may endure, or the weapons brought against us by those who would destroy this nation, the greatest ever conceived since the beginning of history.
If misleading propaganda is brought against us, we must counter it with truth. If our books are banned, we must write more and support any author who is brave enough to stand up against those who would dilute our patriotism or steal our liberties. If guns are brought against us, we must react by defending ourselves and our loved ones with greater firepower. If access to social media is denied us, like Thomas Paine, we must become modern-day pamphleteers extolling the virtues of our great nation and defending her from enemies without and within. These are, indeed, the times that try men’s and women’s souls, and we cannot take an easy course, but must stand and fight like the soldiers of Washington’s outmanned and outgunned army. Just as theirs was a righteous cause, so is our cause. We must ensure that their sacrifices were not in vain.
