Revisiting Patrick Henry: We Are The True Patriots

[DrZeeLit]

Keith Olbermann (in his recent appeal for a Presidential apology) finds solace in the ideas of Voltaire and the words of Jefferson, and I wholeheartedly agree.

I offer also a look at Patrick Henry's famous "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech of March 23, 1775.

Revisiting the words of our revered PATRIOTS should give pause to each and every one of us. For what truly is a PATRIOT?

When one side of the aisle holds the definition of PATRIOT to its breast, claiming sole ownership of said title while thumping and beating that breast, and with gnarly pointed fingers at the other side of the aisle, wildly claims the opposition not merely unpatriotic, but treasonous, we must, indeed, protest.

Patrick Henry said, "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."

Ah. Holding one's tongue, holding one's dissidence -- the true definition of treason.

He continues with ideas that, if we extrapolate to our current national crises, employ an urgent rally cry to those who would be cowed into silence.

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 numbers 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.

Yes, I have hoped this national tragedy would melt away, dissolve, vanish without my having to do much about it. I would wave my flag, vote, protest along a highway, walk in a silent vigil, and all would be well. I would pray the majority of Americans become enlightened, wake up to the loss of their rights, become emboldened to act as myriad lies were unmasked.

Have I been unwise? I am very willing to know the whole truth.
Experience.

Patrick Henry continues. I would have you, dear reader, exchange "the Bush administration for the past six years" in the appropriate place:

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?

Ah, the insidious smile. The "chimp" smile. We know it well. We have seen that smile in numerous places, most recently in angry disagreement with those who would wrest power from his grasp -- the issue of torture, wiretapping, dissolution of the Bill of Rights -- all under guise of "freedom."

Trust it not! Dire warning from the past, from our founding PATRIOTS.

Here again, Patrick Henry:

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.

And might we compare the methods of torture, of imprisonment, secret trials, armed guards in airports -- to the time before the American revolution? I am sure we can search our souls and find the place where we have recently feared our own government. Blackmail, smears, swiftboating, vote-stealing -- the list of implements is long and reflects the arguments, ney the tools of the boy who would be king.

And Patrick Henry continues...

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.

Yes, these methods -- torture, wiretapping, secret trials -- if these are for "our enemies," might these be soon enough for us, for those who oppose these would-be kings? I am sure we have all been considering that very idea, that very chill down our spines these days.

But still, we hope reason will win. We hope. We speak softly. We know in our hearts that we are right. We know that what we say and do is what a true patriot would do -- fight for the freedom of the press, of assembly, of redress or petition. We know that the courts need to remain unbiased, that church and state needs to remain as separate as possible. We speak out and what happens?

Patrick Henry continues:
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.


Now, the PATRIOT, Patrick Henry moved for war against his king, calling himself and his fellow PATRIOTS fully justified,. Having come to the virtual end of the rope, he asserted his right to swing at the end of same rope, in the name of freedom. Not just his right, but his duty to do so.

I'm not saying that we will come to this. I don't envision that type of end.
I envision each of us steeling our hearts and making a supreme effort to overcome this foul stench of despotism and RALLY THE FORCES OF DISSIDISM.

Take back the House. Take back the Senate.
That is our "war" -- as implored by Patrick Henry -- we must FIGHT.
And we are PATRIOTS when we do this.
We are PATRIOTS when we speak out.
We are PATRIOTS when we tell the truth.

He says it all here:
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 but 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.

And I repeat, I surely do:
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!

Our privileges are slipping away. Our rights.
Our fundamental right to Free Speech is being questioned.
Our right to Free Speech hijacked.

When we cannot stand in line to hear the President of the United States because we wear a t-shirt...
When we cannot walk into a courtroom because we wear a t-shirt.
When we cannot attend a session of Congress because we wear a t-shirt.
When agents of our government -- the government for whom my great-grandfather, my grandfather, and my father fought -- scan the parking lots for bumper stickers, we are in prison; we have no freedom for which to further fight
When the President of the United States says that we who disagree, we who dissent, aid the enemy, therefore are treasonous, we have lost our rights. Gone, gone, gone.

I submit that Patrick Henry, a true and original PATRIOT, would have been on OUR SIDE of the aisle.

He finishes:
It is in vain, sir, to extentuate 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!

Yes, our brethren are in the field.
They have been called Daniel Ellsberg, Cindy Sheehan, John Murtha.
They have been called whistleblowers, peaceniks, protesters, and treasonous.

They are PATRIOTS.
And so are we.
We who cannot stand idle, we who cannot be purchased, need to fight.

I commend Keith Olbermann for fighting.
He is being called every name in the book.

I call him a PATRICK HENRY PATRIOT.

[NVMojo]

1. now if only we could get the rest of America to quit being "torturers"

and be real patriots instead ...

[DrZeeLit]

2. Would edit: "rally the forces of DISSIDENCE" (sorry, brain leak)

I am tired of being called a name.
If "they" want to call me a name, let them read Patrick Henry's words, then call me a PATRIOT.