Post by Hoosier Hillbilly on Aug 11, 2014 6:16:18 GMT -5
Can One Imagine Will Travis And Davy Crockett Surrendering Their Guns?
Published: Thursday, May 30, 2013
Pressing events in the country, namely, Barack Obama and Dianne Feinstein’s attempted gun confiscation proposals, made it necessary for me to devote my column to specifically addressing that issue. Accordingly, the anniversary of the fall of the Alamo passed without my annual tribute. I will rectify that with today’s column. Plus, the story of the Alamo only augments the need for strict adherence to the Second Amendment and the rejection of Obama and Feinstein’s Machiavellian gun-control measures.
It was on March 6, 1836, that the Alamo fell. For more than 13 days, 186 brave and determined patriots withstood Santa Anna’s seasoned army of over 4,000 troops. To a man, the defenders of that mission fort knew they would never leave those ramparts alive. They had several opportunities to leave and live. Yet, they chose to fight and die. How foolish they must look to this generation of spoiled Americans.
It is difficult to recall that stouthearted men such as Davy Crockett (a nationally known frontiersman and former congressman), Will Travis (only 23 years old with a little baby at home), and Jim Bowie (a wealthy landowner with properties on both sides of the Rio Grande) really existed. These were real men with real dreams and real desires. Real blood flowed through their veins. They loved their families and enjoyed life as much as any of us do. However, there was something different about them. They possessed a commitment to liberty which transcended personal safety and comfort.
Liberty is an easy word to say, but it is a hard word to live up to. Freedom has little to do with financial gain or personal pleasure and everything to do with a commitment to duty. Accompanying Freedom is her constant and unattractive companion, Responsibility. Neither is she an only child. Patriotism and Morality are her sisters. They are inseparable: destroy one and all will die.
Early in the siege, Travis wrote these words to the people of Texas: “Fellow Citizens & Compatriots: I am besieged by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna... The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise the garrison are to be put to the sword... I have answered the demand with a cannon shot & our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender or retreat... VICTORY OR DEATH! P.S. The Lord is on our side...”
As you read those words, remember that Travis and the others did not have the A.C.L.U., P.E.T.A., the National Education Association, and the Southern Poverty Law Center telling them how intolerant and narrow-minded their notions of honor and patriotism were. A hostile media did not constantly castigate them as a bunch of wild-eyed extremists. As schoolchildren, they were not taught that their forefathers were nothing more than racist jerks. Neither did they have pastors constantly filling their hearts and minds with this imbecilic “Obey-the-government-no-matter-what” misinterpretation of Romans chapter 13.
The brave men at the Alamo labored under the belief that America (and Texas) really was “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” They believed God was on their side and the freedom of future generations depended on their courage and resolve. They further believed their posterity would remember their sacrifice as an act of love and devotion. It all looks pale now.
By today’s standards, the gallant men of the Alamo appear rather foolish. After all, they had no chance of winning--none. Yet, the call for pragmatism and practicality was never sounded. Instead, they answered the clarion call, “Victory or death!”
Please try to remember the heroes of the Alamo as you watch our gutless political and religious leaders surrender to globalism, corporatism, socialism, and political correctness. Try to recall the time in this country when ordinary men and women had the courage of their convictions and were willing to sacrifice their lives for freedom and independence.
One thing is certain: those courageous champions at the Alamo did not die for a political party or for some “lesser of two evils” mantra. They fought and died for a principle, and that principle was liberty and independence. So did the men at Lexington and Concord. That is our heritage.
Today, however, our national leaders are in the process of turning the United States over to the very forces that the Alamo defenders (and America’s Founding Fathers) gave their lives resisting. On second thought, do they look foolish, or do we?
Furthermore, can one imagine the response of Travis and Crockett to the suggestion that they disarm themselves? In truth, Santa Anna’s assault against the Alamo was mostly to do with confiscating the Texans’ firearms. The battle at the Alamo was, in fact, Travis and Crockett’s response to Santa Anna’s attempted gun confiscation. As with America’s separation from Great Britain, the Texas patriots drew their line in the sand (literally) over the issue of gun confiscation.
Published: Thursday, May 30, 2013
Pressing events in the country, namely, Barack Obama and Dianne Feinstein’s attempted gun confiscation proposals, made it necessary for me to devote my column to specifically addressing that issue. Accordingly, the anniversary of the fall of the Alamo passed without my annual tribute. I will rectify that with today’s column. Plus, the story of the Alamo only augments the need for strict adherence to the Second Amendment and the rejection of Obama and Feinstein’s Machiavellian gun-control measures.
It was on March 6, 1836, that the Alamo fell. For more than 13 days, 186 brave and determined patriots withstood Santa Anna’s seasoned army of over 4,000 troops. To a man, the defenders of that mission fort knew they would never leave those ramparts alive. They had several opportunities to leave and live. Yet, they chose to fight and die. How foolish they must look to this generation of spoiled Americans.
It is difficult to recall that stouthearted men such as Davy Crockett (a nationally known frontiersman and former congressman), Will Travis (only 23 years old with a little baby at home), and Jim Bowie (a wealthy landowner with properties on both sides of the Rio Grande) really existed. These were real men with real dreams and real desires. Real blood flowed through their veins. They loved their families and enjoyed life as much as any of us do. However, there was something different about them. They possessed a commitment to liberty which transcended personal safety and comfort.
Liberty is an easy word to say, but it is a hard word to live up to. Freedom has little to do with financial gain or personal pleasure and everything to do with a commitment to duty. Accompanying Freedom is her constant and unattractive companion, Responsibility. Neither is she an only child. Patriotism and Morality are her sisters. They are inseparable: destroy one and all will die.
Early in the siege, Travis wrote these words to the people of Texas: “Fellow Citizens & Compatriots: I am besieged by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna... The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise the garrison are to be put to the sword... I have answered the demand with a cannon shot & our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender or retreat... VICTORY OR DEATH! P.S. The Lord is on our side...”
As you read those words, remember that Travis and the others did not have the A.C.L.U., P.E.T.A., the National Education Association, and the Southern Poverty Law Center telling them how intolerant and narrow-minded their notions of honor and patriotism were. A hostile media did not constantly castigate them as a bunch of wild-eyed extremists. As schoolchildren, they were not taught that their forefathers were nothing more than racist jerks. Neither did they have pastors constantly filling their hearts and minds with this imbecilic “Obey-the-government-no-matter-what” misinterpretation of Romans chapter 13.
The brave men at the Alamo labored under the belief that America (and Texas) really was “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” They believed God was on their side and the freedom of future generations depended on their courage and resolve. They further believed their posterity would remember their sacrifice as an act of love and devotion. It all looks pale now.
By today’s standards, the gallant men of the Alamo appear rather foolish. After all, they had no chance of winning--none. Yet, the call for pragmatism and practicality was never sounded. Instead, they answered the clarion call, “Victory or death!”
Please try to remember the heroes of the Alamo as you watch our gutless political and religious leaders surrender to globalism, corporatism, socialism, and political correctness. Try to recall the time in this country when ordinary men and women had the courage of their convictions and were willing to sacrifice their lives for freedom and independence.
One thing is certain: those courageous champions at the Alamo did not die for a political party or for some “lesser of two evils” mantra. They fought and died for a principle, and that principle was liberty and independence. So did the men at Lexington and Concord. That is our heritage.
Today, however, our national leaders are in the process of turning the United States over to the very forces that the Alamo defenders (and America’s Founding Fathers) gave their lives resisting. On second thought, do they look foolish, or do we?
Furthermore, can one imagine the response of Travis and Crockett to the suggestion that they disarm themselves? In truth, Santa Anna’s assault against the Alamo was mostly to do with confiscating the Texans’ firearms. The battle at the Alamo was, in fact, Travis and Crockett’s response to Santa Anna’s attempted gun confiscation. As with America’s separation from Great Britain, the Texas patriots drew their line in the sand (literally) over the issue of gun confiscation.