The Spirit of Yorktown

On this date 225 years ago, America was born...well, saved from impending doom, we'll say. (I'll stick with the conventional wisdom that the U.S. officially began on July 4, 1776.) At Yorktown, Virginia, the military operations of the American Revolution drew to a close... On that warm, misty morning of October 19, 1781, the British forces of Lord Charles Cornwallis surrendered to the once-ragtag Continental Army led by the father of our country--George Washington. Thousands of brave, war-weary redcoated conscripts stacked their arms on the Yorktown battlefield, while equally brave and tired, but spiritually ecstatic, blue-uniformed American Continentals watched. Washington remained in his tent, showing a new-fangled American resiliency to the arrogant Englishman Cornwallis, who feigned sickness to avoid the humiliating surrender ceremony. The British martial band played an apt tune for the occasion: "The World Turned Upside Down." Indeed it was...and we feel the repercussions yet today.

But do we still care? Our politicians and leaders talk about Washington and Lincoln and FDR and what they stood for, but do they really know? Do "we the people" know? Hardly. We live from day to day feeding on the liberties bought by the blood of Washington's patriots (and a lot of help from, I hate to say it, the French)--more than two centuries ago. What a stable, glorious, enduring legacy! Our right to vote, to worship freely, to question our own government without punishment, was paid for at Yorktown, Saratoga, King's Mountain, and Bunker Hill. For the love of everything holy (and American), I beg you not to forget it. I guess such ideals are especially important to me; my grandfather risked his life in World War II, as did my great-great uncle in the First World War. (His life and health were forever shattered by the poison gas he encountered fighting the Germans. Not convinced that war is all hell? It is.)

At the very least, the next time you, Liberal, foolishly compare Bush to Hitler, or you, Conservative, liken Ted Kennedy to Joseph Stalin, do two things: 1) think about the hyperbole--and stupidity--of your remarks; and 2) thank God you live in a free country where gulags and concentration camps don't await you. (The magnitude of those two 20th century devils may never be equalled...at least, that's the hope.) You don't have to agree with the Iraq War or the current Administration--in many ways, I don't--but remember the brave men and women who have fought, and are fighting, for your precious liberty. Using your freedom to voice dissent, while respecting and showing love for your country--that is the spirit of the American Revolution, won at Yorktown in 1781. Cherish it and keep it alive.

Quote of the Day: "To the memory of the Man, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." - General Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee, giving Washington's eulogy in 1799. The Virginian Lee, one of Washington's most loyal generals and future father of Robert E. Lee, was right...Washington was the Man. This is a good day to remember that.