“The Crisis" (If you will.)

“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will…shrink from the service of their country…” -Thomas Paine 1776

What is it about mere words that can stir the heart and emotions? How does one go from being on the brink of hopelessness to being full of zeal, energy, commitment, and focus— just by hearing words? I’ve often wondered what it was like for those soldiers in December of 1776 to be facing despair (a psychological condition) and the bitter cold (a physical challenge) and still have the fortitude to remain in active duty to a cause so worthy. Maybe that’s why Thomas Paine chose those words “summer soldier” and “sunshine patriot”. Those words carried weight, because so many American soldiers deserted the army and left their brothers in the field—the snowy, wintry field.

Like fair weather fans who love to root on their team when the sun is shining and they’re up 6 runs in the 7th inning, summer soldiers and sunshine patriots flippantly talk about freedom and liberty when the economy is good and the Presidential administration is leading the nation in the right direction. But then the ominous clouds roll in, the away team just batted in 12 runs and it is now approaching the 9th inning. 

This illegitimate administration pressed their authoritarian talons into the hearts and souls of our countrymen demanding they be inoculated by an experimental biological agent or lose their livelihoods. Oh, but no one was forced. Everyone had a choice. Yeah. Choose between poison and potential death or your career. 

The fair weather fans left the stadium. They rolled up their sleeves and took the jab and cried, “I have to support my family!” What? Like those of us who refused to bow the knee don’t have to support our own families? Sunshine patriots. Summer soldiers. They all shrank and cowered from actual service of their country. The rest of us are getting rained on, because we’re still here rooting on the home team. And there’s plenty of ball game left.

“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered…”

We all know (or maybe we all just need a reminder) that whatever is worth having and whatever is worth keeping is worth fighting for. Earn it. Championships are won through intense training and sacrifice. If they weren’t then they’d be cheap and worth nothing. That’s what we have today—cheap champions. Our society has been cheapening champions since it started handing out participation awards. Well deserved and hard earned trophies have been replaced with handouts. No one cares who wins anymore. Competition and the pride in winning have been diminished greatly.

Individuality has been ridiculed while conformity has been praised. You’re different? You’re unique? No one cares. Follow the crowd and shut up, loser. Wear your mask. Lose your identity. It’s for the “greater good”. Instead of encouraging each other to rise above the rest, society is discouraging that and embracing mediocrity. “Keep it fair and equal.” Well, that’s trash. And it breeds wickedness and injustice.

Why? Because what they mean by “equal” is that they want an equal outcome, not an equal playing field. These social justice warriors want you to work your 60 hour week and pay for the other guy on unemployment, while he sits on his duff all day. They want to be rich without working for it. They want to be cheap champions.

“…yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”

Those of us with common sense (as Thomas Paine coined it) know that the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will disappear (have disappeared) at the first sign on struggle. You want to keep that job? Roll up your sleeve.

Those of us who understand that the way of a champion is uphill will find a way to resist and keep moving forward. So, let them leave us in the cold. General Washington led his freezing, starving men across a frozen river and slaughtered a well-trained army against all odds. It only took 300 Spartans to defend a narrow pass from hundreds of thousands of invaders. When Elijah thought he was the last man alive, God told him there were 7,000 that remained.

If God is for us, then who can stand against us? And in case you’re wondering which side God is on, He is on the side of justice. He is a just God. When Abraham Lincoln was asked if he believed God was on his side, he replied, “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right."

Be strong. Resist. Summer is fading. Sunshine is waning. Winter is coming.

“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” -Thomas Paine