Battle Lines Drawn: Patriot Volunteers Needed

Last night I watched the movie “The Patriot” with Mel Gibson as Benjamin Martin and Heath Ledger as his son Gabriel. If you haven’t seen it, the movie is about a man at the beginning of the Revolutionary War who just wants to mind his own business and stay out of the fighting. He had fought in the French and Indian War, and had seen enough fighting and killing to last him for the rest of his life. He wanted to live in peace, nothing more. As much as he tried to remain neutral, the war came to him in the form of terror tactics used by British soldiers against his family and neighbors.

One very striking scene was when Gabriel entered a church in a small South Carolina village asking for volunteers. He told them he needed help. No one moved until one young woman stood up and chastised the men for being all talk and no action. She pointed out how each of them had talked about freedom but now that the time had come to put their words into action they were hesitant to do so. Paralyzed by fear, they were willing to live in slavery rather than fight. As she spoke, heads hung in shame. One by one the men stood, volunteering to serve their fledgling nation in its time of need.

Men who wanted nothing more than to live their lives in peace and tend to their families rose to defend their homes from a government that threatened their liberty and their right to live in peace and freedom. They took up their arms and followed their destiny to eventual freedom for the thirteen original colonies, the future United States of America. They didn’t fight for a country, they fought for their homes, their farms, and the freedom to live in peace and support their families. Many of them died, never seeing the eventual result of their actions.

Another scene near the end of the movie was a reenactment of the Battle of Cowpens. A black man who had been offered freedom if he would serve in the Continental Army for 12 months stood beside a white man who had ridiculed him for being a slave expecting freedom. The white man said, “It has been more than 12 months, you are free”. The black man responded, “I am not here for that now, I am here of my own free will”. The white man who had been such a jerk earlier then said, “I am honored to be standing here with you, honored”.

This is what our nation is about. We are patriots; white, black, brown, red, yellow, it doesn’t matter. Whatever our skin color, whatever our ancestry may be, we are here of our own free will to stand together for freedom from a tyrannical government. Today we are activists of a sort; writing, voting, calling, faxing, and telling our government in face to face town hall meetings that We the People are fed up and want real change. We want our country back and will accept nothing else. We demand government Of the People, BY the People, and FOR the People.

The time may very well come when this isn’t enough and, like those in the early days, we will be required to do more. Some may have to lay their lives down for the freedom of others. Some may pay the ultimate price and never see the freedom they will have won with their sacrifice. For 235 years Americans have been risking and losing their lives to preserve the freedom of others; some here at home, some in far away lands.

We strive to avoid that calamity and to restore our nation through prayer and honoring God first, but also by being part of a freedom movement. We are working through the political system given to us by God and our founding fathers to effect the needed changes in government.

Millions of American citizens are taking the same actions. The TEA Party rallies are a prime example of patriotic American citizens working to restore the values espoused by our founders. TEA Party people are patriots, giving of themselves to make our nation a better place for all. They work regular jobs yet find time to get together on weekends to voice their opinions and to let government know that the status quo isn’t acceptable. These are the people who give of themselves without expecting anything in return. They are respectful of property, police, each other, and above all The Constitution. This is American exceptionalism at its finest.

This is America. We the People; with common values, faith in God, a concern for each other, a desire to help our neighbors in times of need, and a decency that some just can’t understand. Those who can’t understand this basic human decency call conservative patriots names like teabaggers, racists, Nazis, bigots, homophobes, islamophobes, etc. They can’t accept patriotic Americans because they don’t have the Godly personal values of America in them.

Like Benjamin Martin, we will not be allowed to remain neutral and untouched by the coming tyranny. Those who sit back and think they can ride out the storm are in for a rude awakening. Many Jews and Christians thought they could remain peaceful and passive in Nazi Germany. America’s future will find those same kind of people enslaved, imprisoned, or slaughtered. None of us will be allowed to live in peace, even those who fully support a dictator. Only the ultra wealthy, and those in positions of power such as Congress, bureaucrats, and judges will be allowed to survive intact; and then only if they acquiesce to the tyrannical ruler. The rest of us will be subjected to poverty, imprisonment, torture, and death regardless of political opinion.

As I look around today I see America everywhere I look. I see men, women, and children of all colors, all economic levels, all faith denominations coming together for a common goal; the restoration of the Constitution and the America given to us by God and our founding fathers. It won’t be easy but nothing worth while ever seems to be easily attainable.

The battle lines have been drawn by those who are determined to subjugate the citizens of the United States under a dictatorial oligarchy involving both political parties. Those few in Congress who stand with We the People need our support. Until now our actions have been within peaceful and civil means, and hopefully that will be enough to stem the tide of tyranny. If not, citizens must be willing to stand against the tyranny whatever the cost may be.

The anarchists on the left intend to destroy what is left of freedom with riots of unprecedented proportion during the summer and fall. Billionaire George Soros and his operatives have been very open about what they intend to accomplish. The G-8 summit and the conventions of both political parties are going to be targeted by people intent on installing martial law and dictatorship. The Occupy Wall Street crowds are mere pawns in a sinister plan to establish a dictatorship that will affect all citizens. If these plans are successful elections are questionable. A Democrat governor and several members of Congress have already called for the suspension of elections and the Constitution. They are serious about subjugating We the People.

We the People, the many millions who understand and appreciate American values, must pull together to return this great nation to what John Winthrop described in the 1700’s as “a shining city on a hill”. A nation established by great men with a vision from God and a courage that lives today in the hearts and minds of true American patriots will live on. We owe this to those who have gone before and those still to come.

The battle lines have been drawn by those who seek unlimited power over American citizens. They will not back down. Where do you stand? Will you be one who sits idly by while your neighbors are sent to internment camps or will you be one of those who will stand when needed to “protect and defend” the Constitution of the United States of America and your liberty?

I submit this in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, in faith, with the responsibility given to me by Almighty God to honor His work and not let it die from neglect.

Bob Russell
Claremore, Oklahoma
February 5, 2012