A few years ago during my first read of ‘The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution‘ I had a moment of reflection that I still believe holds true today.
Note the names have been changed to “protect the innocent”:
Halftime in this book, time for a little reflection as to how things were in 1780, how things were for us in the 1990s .. and reflecting on the future.
In dialog over the past week with my son Captain1776 regarding the recaps I have been sharing went like this:
Captain1776: “.. Can’t imagine evading, hiding, having limited food n clothes, fighting a long war away from family as your brothers and neighbors die… its crazy ..”SF1/Dad: “.. Back then society consisted of mainly pioneer types … this allowed Marion to be supplied buy a slim majority in some areas .. today society is full of snowflakes IMHO . look at your neighbors and think how many would risk to supply you if you led rebellion against the Government. Yup .. a LOT of work to do to change hearts and minds .. will probably need to be preceded by government defaulting on it’s promises in a big way ..”Captain1776: “..That’s some truth right there. I don’t think there’d be anyone willing to help lol. Smh!..”I was sitting on the deck this morning in the mid-40s sunshine that SW Michigan offered up with my eyes closed. My mind reflected back to the 1990s when we had a time as family where springtime, especially by April 10th meant it was time for chickens and pigs: (Malibu holding spring chicks)
As a young father, what were my priorities? Family first .. and then community/extended ‘family’. What gave the capacity to do this? Love. Plain and simple, there were just some things that one sacrifices for that don’t always benefit ones self.
As a dad, I love all my kids, and time with them was a premium. But there was also a time that I expanded that to what I call ‘extended family’ .. usually good friends would emerge (whether it was neighbor M.S. or L.G. who I met at church, or B.P. or J.F. or even Pastor R.V.) that would expand my world. My daily thoughts were/are still for them and their families.
It does seem that since 9/11 the distractions from the American Empire and the world have taken center stage, and our love for country wants safety for all involved .. the soldiers as well as the civilians caught up being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not long after this “noble” war we learned that it was all based on a lie. Soldiers that did return from the Middle East felt as betrayed as the ones that returned from Vietnam in the 1970s. The American “exceptionalism” meant that we were to go around the world and create new democracies .. however, this too has turned into a lie.
The American media which for generations have brought Americans the journalism that shaped our worldview has started to reveal their true allegiance .. and it is not towards telling the truth.
The American educational system which for generations have taught us a local/regional/national view that has begun to unravel. More Americans everyday are starting to wakeup to the fact that we have been lied to, our parents have been lied to .. our grandparents as well as the version of history, economics and even psychology taught is a subset of what is real.
The American government’s war on poverty, war on drugs, etc. are utter failures, by design, as their monopoly works so that they just need a little more money to get it right while tricking the pawns caught in the web to experience perpetual government dependence or life in prison.
The American corporatism (corporate welfare recipients) have also corrupted our country, with a suspect food supply, suspect health”care” system that only benefits those elites that can gain profit and power from these intrusions into families and communities across America.
The American police state has made it their business to know everything about everybody, and the CIA/FBI/NSA and 14 other intelligence agencies in this country can control both individual lives as well as politics. They now have the dirt on everyone over the past decade plus that can be used as blackmail since all that data can easily be taken out of context to prove ones guilt to the myriad of laws on the books .. and even remove anyone from society with a trip to Gitmo or soon, a drone strike.
Twenty short years from the 1990s it seems that we have lost almost the rest of what America had to offer to those pioneers in the 1600/1700s that provided Francis Marion that opportunity to serve his FAMILY and COMMUNITY by doing sacrificially what he did over the course of two plus years to help the “cause” for each of the thirteen sovereign states to be independent from the English Empire.
While the erosion of locality, family & community, has been ongoing since almost right after the American Revolution .. the last 20/50/150 years has seen times that accelerated this slide.
Personally, I am in the middle of unlearning all that government schools taught me in the 1960s/1970s .. George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are not the people the text books make them out to be. This is NOT an exercise in bashing others to make me look good or right. This is an effort to knock down those idols, those deified gods our state has propped up to support their narrative on being that “shining city on a hill” BS.
The real heroes are the family men and women who sacrifice their time, money and sometimes life to provide their kids and community with liberty and freedom.
Francis Marion is one of those rare people that became a legend and yet when a light is shined on their lives they were real people with a heart for others.
So while the evening news, Yahoo News or Google searches try to distract you into thinking that only the American Empire can keep you and your family safe, and that the Nanny State loves all her children and that the Daddy State (Military Industrial Complex) is a righteous power for good in this world and that the Police State can keep you safe from all the bad guys by knowing everything (if you see something, say something) .. think again.
Do your own homework and research. Teach your kids and challenge your co-workers to “change minds and hearts”. Above all, know that Papa is especially fond of you, that He has been greatly misunderstood by many religious teachers and know that Jesus is with you and can relate to where you might be at when you feel you are at the end of your rope. Trust the Holy Spirit in your heart to be your guide and your True North.
“The true test of civilization is, not the census, nor the size of cities, nor the crops – no, but the kind of man the country turns out.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Love y’all
Spring must be a season for reflections .. soak up time with family and friends!
-SF1
Remake of in 2014 – RIP Dean Ford – Life is Short: