For such a time as this

Upon the whole I cannot help saying … that it always seemed strange to me that people who contend so much for civil liberty should be so ready to deprive others of natural liberty … If one set of private subjects may at any time take upon themselves to punish another set of private subjects just when they please, it’s such a sort of government as I have never heard of before: and according to my poor notion of government, this is one of the principle things which government is designed to prevent. – Theophilus Lillie (From 1776 by David McCullough)

     For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise from another place.  And who knows but that you have come for such a time as this?" (Inspired by and paraphrased from Esther 4:14 .)

During the Revolutionary War the American citizenry was divided into two distinct groups; the Patriots and the Loyalists. The Patriots battled on the side of Independence, while the Loyalists, completely dependant on English largess, fought to remain subjects of the crown.

Today we are engaged in another civil struggle, nearly as intense, between two similar groups. The “Patriots” represent those who have recently awakened to the sudden loss of representation by their elected officials and have joined forces to maintain and observe the tenets of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The other group, which I will call “Loyalists”, have become so dependent that they demonstrate undying loyalty to a government that is not only out of control, but eager to change the foundation of freedom that was established by the Founders.

Patriots include Republicans, Independents, and Democrats, some of whom voted for change and then came to the shocking realization that the fix was in. They are those Americans who approached their representatives about their concerns only to receive a sneer in response. They are Americans who object to congress passing laws that they haven’t even taken the time to read. They are the citizens who attended tea parties and town hall meetings, and traveled long distances to attend the 9/12 project in Washington D.C. where nearly 2 million strong gathered together to make their voices heard.

But were they heard?

On Sunday, just hours after the 9/12 gathering disbanded, Obama’s top advisor, David Axelrod, said that the Patriots gathered in Washington were a distraction, not representative of the majority, and don't represent the mainstream view. President Obama left Washington early on September 12 to pitch government run health care in Minnesota. Talk about plausible deniability; this is the same Obama who, on April 15, when tens of thousands of Patriots gathered at tea parties across the nation, said that he didn’t even known that the events were taking place.

The Loyalists call us names; “racist”, “terrorists”, “lunatic fringe”, “extremists”. And the media parrot the libel as if they were taking dictation directly from Axelrod himself.

But there are signs that something of a historical magnitude is about to happen in America the likes of which has not been seen since the first revolution. Never before have the lines been drawn with as large a gap between the two camps. It’s as if two armies are waiting on opposite sides of a field waiting for the first cannon shot to signal the beginning of the deciding battle.

Until now the Patriotic forces’ engagements with politicians at town hall meetings and the rallies throughout the nation have been mere skirmishes leading up to the great bloodletting that will take place at the polls in November, 2010. We were born for “such a time as this.” We will, we must, prevail or face the loss of all the freedoms that we hold dear.

The battle cry was shouted at Barack Obama during his speech to the House of Representatives by Patriot Joe Wilson of South Carolina: “You LIE!”

Another more colorful version of the Wilson’s cry was uttered by a patriotic senior citizen at a town hall meeting in California to Congressman Pete Stark, “Don’t pee on my leg and then tell me it’s raining.”

Stark’s answer: “I wouldn’t dignify you by peeing on your leg. It wouldn’t be worth wasting the urine.”

I, for one, am tired of being peed on. I’m sick of being lied to. I’m annoyed at being criticized and ignored. I am angered at being called “racist” just because I happen to disagree with our first “black” president. And most of all I am fiercely angry that the representatives that I voted for have dismissed me as part of an orchestrated fringe movement that is to be maligned, mocked, and belittled.

To arms, Patriots, to arms! Your musket is the Declaration of Independence, your cannon the Constitution, your bayonet your vote.

As Patriots, we need to work harder than ever to unseat any and all members of either party that runs for reelection. We need to fight vigorously for property rights, gun rights, and the rights of the unborn. We must campaign relentlessly for the exploration and extraction of the fossil fuels, natural gas, and coal that God has placed in and near this great country for our use. We must argue vehemently against government control of any aspect of health care. We must stand firm against amnesty for illegal aliens. We must attack any hint of the installment of a tyrannical government.

I will continue to fight for these things on these pages and demand that we throw the bums out of the halls of government and slam the door behind them.

Patriots stand with me. As for you Loyalists, bring it on.