The Animating Contest of Freedom

By Zack Strong

September 21, 2022

We live in dark and confused times. Our Founding Fathers also lived in dark and uncertain times. Today, we turn to them for inspiration. Only light expels darkness and these words of encouragement from our noble forebears are pure light scorched with the holy fire of Freedom.

Days prior to the Battle of Long Island in 1776, General George Washington issued a challenge to his fighting men. Said he:

“[T]he hour is fast approaching, on which the Honor and Success of this army, and the safety of our bleeding Country depend. Remember officers and Soldiers, that you are Freemen, fighting for the blessings of Liberty—that slavery will be your portion, and that of your posterity, if you do not acquit yourselves like men: Remember how your Courage and Spirit have been dispised, and traduced by your cruel invaders; though they have found by dear experience at Boston, Charlestown and other places, what a few brave men contending in their own land, and in the best of causes can do, against base hirelings and mercenaries—Be cool, but determined; do not fire at a distance, but wait for orders from your officers—It is the General’s express orders that if any man attempt to skulk, lay down, or retreat without Orders he be instantly shot down as an example, he hopes no such Scoundrel will be found in this army; but on the contrary, every one for himself resolving to conquer, or die, and trusting to the smiles of heaven upon so just a cause, will behave with Bravery and Resolution: Those who are distinguished for their Gallantry, and good Conduct, may depend upon being honorably noticed, and suitably rewarded: And if this Army will but emulate, and imitate their brave Countrymen, in other parts of America, he has no doubt they will, by a glorious Victory, save their Country, and acquire to themselves immortal Honor” (General Washington, General Orders, August 23, 1776).

What are we fighting for today? Are we fighting for power, control, dominion, wealth, or fame? Are we fighting for a political party or faction? Are we fighting for conquest and empire? Or, alternatively, are we fighting for “the safety of our bleeding Country,” our “own land,” and the “blessings of Liberty”? Is our cause so just that it merits the “smiles of heaven”? Are we “Freemen” resisting slavery and rebuking tyranny? Unless we fight for our Faith, Families, and Freedom, or cause is unjust and will fail. To win, we must know who we are, why we are fighting, and make our appeal to the God of this covenant land, who is Jesus Christ.

When the Declaration of Independence was signed, the fiery patriot John Adams wrote to his beloved wife Abigail, stating:

“You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. — I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. — Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not” (John Adams to Abigail Adams, July 3, 1776).

Do we look forward through the mists of swirling darkness and glimpse the “Rays of ravishing Light and Glory” that are our destiny as a People? Do we hold in remembrance the sacred mission that the Pilgrim and Puritan forefathers and our Founding Fathers set for us; namely, the creation of an asylum for Liberty and a new Zion of our God? With our eyes on this most glorious prize, triumph will be ours with His divine aid.

A year later, Mr. Adams wrote again to Abigail, telling her:

“Do our People intend to leave the Continent in the Lurch? Do they mean to submit? or what Fatality attends them? With the noblest Prize in View, that ever Mortals contended for, and with the fairest Prospect of obtaining it upon easy Terms, The People of the Massachusetts Bay, are dead.

“Does our State intend to send only half, or a third of their Quota? Do they wish to see another, crippled, disastrous and disgracefull Campaign for Want of an Army? — I am more sick and more ashamed of my own Countrymen, than ever I was before. The Spleen, the Vapours, the Dismals, the Horrors, seem to have seized our whole State.

“More Wrath than Terror, has seized me. I am very mad. The gloomy Cowardice of the Times, is intollerable in N. England. . . .

“Posterity! You will never know, how much it cost the present Generation, to preserve your Freedom! I hope you will make a good Use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in Heaven, that I ever took half the Pains to preserve it” (John Adams to Abigail Adams, April 26, 1777).

As bleak as the situation looked in the moment, John Adams nevertheless looked above and beyond the sacrifices and pain and toil to the “noblest Prize” of Freedom and Independence. As we look around us and see former friends fall by the wayside, turncoats show their true colors, and a cabal of traitors try to overthrow and subjugate this great nation, we must remember what Mr. Adams knew; namely, that the prize we fight for is worth all our efforts, blood, sweat, and tears.

The Father of the American Revolution, Samuel Adams, threw down the gauntlet for the men of his day. His words apply with equal force to our generation:

“The truth is, all might be free, if they valued freedom and defended it as they ought . . . If, therefore, a people will not be free, if they have not virtue enough to maintain their liberty against a presumptuous invader, they deserve no pity, and are to be treated with ignominy” (Samuel Adams, Boston Gazette, October 14, 1771).

Another time, Samuel Adams spoke just as clearly and bluntly, challenging patriots everywhere to join the cause:

“Contemplate the mangled bodies of our countrymen, and then say, What should be the reward of such sacrifices? Bid us and our posterity bow the knee, supplicate the friendship, and plough, and sow, and reap, to glut the avarice of the men who have let loose on us the dogs of war to riot in our blood, and hunt us from the face of the earth? If we love wealth better than liberty, the tranquillity of servitude, than the animating contest of freedom – go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.

“. . . The calamities were at our door. The rod of oppression was raised over us. We were roused from our slumbers, and may we never sink into repose until we can convey a clear and undisputed inheritance to our posterity. This day we are called upon to give a glorious example of what the wisest

and best of men were rejoiced to view, only in speculation. This day presents the world with the most august spectacle that its annals ever unfolded. Millions of freemen, deliberately and voluntarily forming themselves into a society for their common defence and common happiness. . . .

“Our Union is now complete; our constitution composed, established, and approved. You are now the guardians of your own liberties. We may justly address you, as the Decemviri did the Romans, and say – “Nothing that we propose can pass into a law without your consent. Be yourselves, O Americans, the authors of those laws on which your happiness depends.”

“You have now in the field armies sufficient to repel the whole force of your enemies, and their base and mercenary auxiliaries. The hearts of your soldiers beat high with the spirit of freedom – they are animated with the justice of their cause, and while they grasp their swords, can look up to heaven for assistance. Your adversaries are composed of wretches who laugh at the rights of humanity, who turn religion into derision, and would, for higher wages, direct their swords against their leaders or their country. Go on, then, in your generous enterprise, with gratitude to heaven, for past success, and confidence of it in the future. For my own part, I ask no greater blessing than to share with you the common danger and common glory. If I have a wish dearer to my soul, than that my ashes may be mingled with those of a Warren and Montgomery – it is – that these American States may never cease to be free and independent!” (Samuel Adams, “American Independence,” August 1, 1776).

It has been inspiring the past several years to witness a speedy awakening from coast to coast. The deliberately engineered national calamities that have hit us one after have jolted millions awake. Now, our ranks are swelling. We have an irate minority of Liberty-loving, America-first patriots steeling themselves for the battle for their rights. They proudly wave the American flag and they acknowledge that America is exceptional.

More importantly, many of our number have inclined their hearts toward God and are petitioning Him for a just redress of our grievances against the “rulers of the darkness of this world” (Ephesians 6:12). We are grateful to Heaven for its bounties. We are filled with love and respect for our Founding Fathers whom the Lord prospered and inspired to set up a free nation and a beacon of hope for humanity. Today, it is our duty to carry forward our Freedom, regain what we have lost, and cement the standard of Liberty forever in America.

In his rousing writings, Thomas Paine encouraged the beleaguered Continental Army onward to a victory which he knew was certain. He affirmed:

“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 his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: It is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to set a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed, if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated. . . .

“I have as little superstition in me as any man living, but my secret opinion has ever been, and still is, that GOD Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction, or leave them unsupportedly to perish, who have so earnestly and so repeatedly sought to avoid the calamities of war by every decent

method which wisdom could invent. Neither have I so much of the infidel in me as to suppose that HE has relinquished the government of the world and given us up to the care of devils. . . .

“. . . a generous parent should have said, “If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace;” and this single reflection, well applied, is sufficient to awaken every man to duty. Not a place upon earth might be so happy as America. Her situation is remote from all the wrangling world, and she has nothing to do but to trade with them. A man can distinguish himself between temper and principle, and I am as confident, as I am that GOD governs the world, that America will never be happy till she gets clear of foreign dominion. Wars, without ceasing, will break out till that period arrives, and the Continent must in the end be conqueror, for though the flame of liberty may sometimes cease to shine, the coal can never expire. . . .

“. . . Say not that thousands are gone, turn out your tens of thousands; throw not the burden of the day upon Providence, but “show your faith by your works” that GOD may bless you. It matters not where you live or what rank of life you hold, the evil or the blessing will reach you all. The far and the near, the home counties and the back[country], the rich and the poor, will suffer or rejoice alike. The heart that feels not now, is dead: The blood of his children will curse his cowardice, who shrinks back at a time when a little might have saved the whole, and made them happy. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ’Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death” (Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, No. 1, December, 1776).

Are you prepared to doggedly pursue your principles unto death? Does the fire of Freedom burn in your bones? Does the light of Liberty shine in your soul? Is your supply of patriotic coal low or are you constantly nourishing the blaze of American Independence? God will bless those who enter into a covenant to serve Him on this special land. America is His outpost. He will defend us if we man up to exert ourselves for Him, for the Heaven-inspired Constitution, for our families and children, for our precious rights, and for our sacred Freedom.

When things get difficult, when war howls, when tyranny rages, when dissenters scoff, when the controlled press spews pessimism and defeatism, then is the time to press forward, redouble your efforts, believe in America, embrace the heritage of your ancestors, and show your faith by your works. God will not restore the Republic or deliver Liberty to you on a silver platter, for, as Thomas Jefferson said, “we are not to expect to be translated from despotism to liberty, in a feather-bed” (Thomas Jefferson to the Marquis de Lafayette, April 2, 1790). The great Sage also wrote: “[T]imid men . . . prefer the calm of despotism to the boisterous sea of liberty” (Thomas Jefferson to Phillip Mazzei, April 24, 1796).

Are we timid? Are we scared of the fight? Are we to servile to do our duty to protect and perpetuate our God-given rights? If we are, we have no hope. But our forebearers believed in the Lord. They believed in Liberty. They believed that America was special, that her people were chosen for the task of freeing the world through the force of their example, and that God would not fail us so long as we did not fail Him. Let’s exert ourselves like men, reclaim the title of freemen, and stand in the gap for Liberty.

Finally, we turn to the immortal rallying cry of Patrick Henry just prior to the shot heard ‘round the world at Lexington and Concord:

“If we wish to be free–if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending–if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained–we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!

“They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of [Washington]! The war is inevitable–and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.

“It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace– but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” (Patrick Henry, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death,” March 23, 1775).

Are you willing to suit up for Freedom? Are you willing to risk it all in this noble cause? Are you willing to be called an “extremist” and do the revolutionary thing of defending Freedom? We don’t need a majority, but we need an active and vigilant core that appeals to Heaven, refuses to submit to slavery, and values dangerous Liberty more than tyrannical security.

We are not alone; the fight for Freedom is God’s fight. America was set up by Him and His divine power. We were established as His new Israel, His base of operations, His empire of Liberty. America is special in the divine economy and will never fail. A cleansing must occur, and blood must nourish the tree of Liberty, but a righteous remnant will prevail. There must be no doubt in our hearts of this crucial truth. Our destiny is Freedom forever!

E-Mail Zack Strong: zastrong@hotmail.com