America’s hard fought war for independence
On July 4th, 1776 the Second Continental Congress took the radical step of declaring 13 of King George III’s colonies independent of the mother country.
From then on, there was no going back.
As Benjamin Franklin said, “We shall all hang together or we shall most certainly hang separately.”
The story of American independence is so remarkable it still seems more fable than fact. Yet, while the actual history is complex, contradictory and often confusing, it still has the power to inspire and unite a vast people — but only if it’s taught.
When we ignore the Fourth, we toss away a gift for the ages.
Two recent books offer excellent insight into exactly how brutal the American Revolution really was.
Remember, it was a civil war, and a civil war is always the cruelest, pitting brother against brother, father against son.
This is captured magnificently in Daniel Mark Epstein’s 2017 “The Loyal Son: The War in Ben Franklin’s House,” which not only details the terrorist campaigns launched against British Loyalists, but the cleave independence left in Franklin’s own family. His beloved son, Richard, retained his post as royal governor of New Jersey until he was forced to flee to Great Britain, never to return.
Today, the American revolutionaries are seen as powdered wig wearing fops parading around in ridiculous formations begging to be mowed down by enemy shot and shell.
In reality, the American Revolution was an ugly fight to the death, often hand to hand, and with no quarter given.
The hair-curling violence of the struggle is captured unforgettably in Holger Hoock’s 2017 “Scars of Independence: America’s Violent Birth.”
Read separately or together, Epstein and Hoock’s books will forever change the notion of a mythical bloodless past where high ideals carried the day.
The notion that we had a natural right to govern ourselves, that we were meant to be citizens, not subjects, had yet to be successfully put into practice anywhere on Earth.
It was a radical idea and the powers that be would not go down without a fight.
Making these ideas a reality was costly and often incredibly cruel. If you think 2021 is ugly, be grateful you weren’t around in 1776.
The Spirit of ’76 was a blood oath pledge to live together and, if necessary, die together in the cause of freedom. This isn’t hyperbole.
The Founders risked everything to present us with this amazing gift.
They believed the Spirit of ’76 had to be incorporated as part of their daily lives and passed as a birthright from one generation to the next.
Somewhere along the way we’ve dropped the ball.
We’ve pushed the meaning of Independence Day onto memory’s backburner.
The Fourth of July has to be taught as a special day, as something that matters; otherwise, it’s reduced to just another long weekend, just another day to light the grill or loaf at the beach. The Fourth should be a special celebration of citizenship; the day we recommit ourselves to the radical notion of a self-governing people rather than mere pawns of kings.
Tragically, many today view the flag, the Founding Fathers and the story of America itself as symbols of racism, sexism and cultural genocide, a notion evangelized by radical leftists who are exploiting today’s inequities to spin mankind’s greatest liberation movement into a litany of oppression.
On Aug. 13, 2020, six America-haters were arrested for tearing down a statue of George Washington from L.A.’s Grand Park.
Worse still, the statue remains in storage nearly a year later with no announced plans to return Washington to his proper place in our community.
When George Washington can be toppled from public parks without a peep of protest, how long before he is removed from the hearts of his fellow countrymen?
Of course, the right has its own radicals.
On Jan. 6 of this year, fake patriots used the American flag to beat the police officers they claim to love as they stormed the nation’s Capitol to stop a free and fair election.
The American flag does not belong to any political party.
It is our birthright, all of us, regardless of who we vote for.
Fly the flag. Fly it every day. Reclaim it for the next generation and the generations after that.
Happy 245th birthday, America! Here’s to at least 245 more.