THIS IS NOT THE DAY TO SURRENDER
“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’s words, delivered on Christmas Eve 1776 to 2,000 survivors of an army that had been thoroughly defeated by the British in the battles on Long Island the previous fall and the fighting retreat from New York to the cold winter forest in eastern Pennsylvania, most of whose members looked forward to leaving the army on New Year’s Day when their enlistments were up, inspired the defeated army to cross the Delaware River and hide in the snowy forest on the other side while they listened to their enemies sing drunken Christmas carols. And then on Christmas morning, they took Trenton Barracks and made prisoners of the Hessian mercenaries the British had brought to America to terrorize the rebellious colonists.
They saved the Revolution in its darkest moment.
That was not the only dark time in the Revolution. There were many others; there were more defeats to be suffered. There was more opportunity to stand, or run away.
The same was true in the Civil War. Victory only came after many defeats.
We have lived our lives in the country created by those who didn’t run away. The ones who didn’t surrender to the hard times.
That’s who we are.
I’ll have more in the morning. History is still on our side so long as we don’t surrender.
For this post, comments are again open to all, because now is the time to solidify the community.
This election has shown us and the world what the United States has become. This has not been the work of recent players but the machinations of the Republican Party over decades, since the election of Reagan. They have been very strategic and patient while they put the structure in place to achieve the destruction of our democracy. Dems have been asleep at the wheel and failed and still fail to understand the importance and significance of the Republicans’ efforts. I saw this coming over three years ago and began my survival preparations then. Tonight has underscored the wisdom of those preparations against my hopes for an outcome that would have preserved democracy for us. It truly is a sad day in history and for the world.
No surrender. We will keep doing the necessary work, no matter what. I truly believe this, even though I'm frightened right now. My dad was a Holocaust survivor, and the rise of anti-semitism during the last Trump presidency was bad. I see no choice but to keep fighting.