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So Washington decided to cross the Delaware River at Christmas, surprise the defenders of Trenton, and seize it. Washington feared that what seemed like a desperate attack plan was unlikely to buck up troop morale, so he had his officers read to the troops an essay fresh from the pen of Thomas Paine, himself a soldier in Washington's army.
Paine's first words became the watchword of the attack on Trenton and are said to have inspired much of the uncommon bravery displayed that night and for the next five years: "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 it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered."
Blood on the Snow
The Delaware River was already running high with flowing ice on Christmas Day, when at 11 p.m. a heavy snow and sleet storm broke. Washington's force did not reach the east bank until around 3 a.m. His soldiers then marched to Trenton -- the ones without shoes leaving traces of blood on the snow. Though they reached Trenton hours later than Washington had planned, his troops still surprised and overwhelmed a garrison of Hessian mercenaries on the day after Christmas.
Capt. Alexander Hamilton commanded an artillery section. Capt. William Washington, second cousin to the commanding general, and Lt. James Monroe (yes, that James Monroe) were wounded, the only American officer casualties. Two American soldiers were killed; and two others froze to death. The Hessian defenders suffered 20 killed and around 100 wounded, with 1,000 captured.
Not a major battle, you may be thinking. But remember, the effect of the Battle of Trenton was out of all proportion to the numbers involved and the casualties. The success at Trenton galvanized the American effort across the colonies and reversed the psychological dominance enjoyed by the British in the preceding months.
So why all this history? Because, remember, actions often have a larger impact, a greater significance, than numbers can impart. Bravery and ideas can touch the heart and focus the mind. They can inspire.
Perhaps you will sense the same hope that I do in recognizing this kind of thing can, and does, happen. And can happen again. What is required are integrity, courage, and imagination. Americans still can revive the spirit around the Battle of Trenton and start to turn the tide against a new tyranny.
We may have to leave some "blood on the snow," so to speak, but perhaps we owe that to the soldiers who had no shoes 235 Christmases ago. We are Washington's foot soldiers now -- facing the resurgent face of tyranny. But there are already enough of us to defend our Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Traitorous Law
Lawyers and historians may argue over whether the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 is the deepest wound ever inflicted on the U.S. Constitution or just another debilitating cut. They may note that the United States has lost its way before -- from the Alien and Sedition Acts to Cointelpro.
But the NDAA strikes me as the most serious affront to American rights in my already pretty long lifetime. That, and the lifetime of my eight grandchildren, constitutes my horizon. Yet, why do so few of my neighbors understand the assault on the Bill of Rights that President Obama advanced with his signature?
Is it the old story of the frog that lets itself get slowly boiled to death because the water temperature is raised only gradually? Or is it that the law was signed on New Year's Eve when most Americans were distracted? Or perhaps because the following day, the journalists of the Fawning Corporate Media had convenient hangovers, excusing them for ignoring this latest dark turn in our nation's history.
Just as former CIA Director George Tenet protested to Scott Pelley on 60 Minutes -- five times in five consecutive sentences, "We do not torture!" -- Obama may now declare, "We don't violate the Constitution!"
But where are our journalists now, this week in January 2012? Why aren't they investigating how this travesty occurred -- and how curious it is that this steady encroachment on American rights continues even as U.S. intelligence agencies say al-Qaeda is on the verge of defeat with only a couple of "high-value targets" left from its core operation?
Shouldn't this be the moment when the United States begins winding down this decade-long anti-constitutional state of siege rather than giving it new life and even expanding its reach? Is there a message here about the future, especially given the new neoconservative propaganda initiative associating al-Qaeda with Iran?
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