On Christmas night December 25, 1776, the fate of a young nation trying to establish
itself hung in the balance. Declaration of Independence notwithstanding, not much had gone
right for the colonists in their fight for freedom from the crown of England since the
early success of the "shot heard round the world" a little over a year and a
half before at Lexington and Concord.
The mighty British Army, who was the most powerful in the world at the time, was
winning battle after battle. The Revolutionary Army of the 13 American colonies had
suffered possibly its worst defeat when General Washington and his troops were unable to
hold New York City. They had been driven from New York and were on the run through New
Jersey.
As winter set in, American soldiers were dying of cold and starvation. The British were
winning without even firing a shot. Soldiers were deserting in droves. Washington’s
Army had dwindled to only seven thousand men. All but one thousand five hundred were bound
to the Army until the first of the year.
Washington had crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. The fledgling
nation’s government, the Continental Congress, had so much confidence in their Army
that they left Philadelphia (as the fighting came close) for what looked like only
temporary safety in Baltimore. If opinion polls had been in use back then, King George
would likely have had much higher support among the people of the colonies than General
Washington and the Continental Congress.
General Washington and his staff realized that if they didn’t quickly come up with
a victory to turn the tide around, they would see their already small army fall apart. Out
of desperation, they came up with a daring plan to cross the Delaware River by boat during
the night and attack the British at Trenton. On Christmas night, in a hard freezing wind,
Washington took his men across the Delaware to meet their fate.
The Hessian Mercenaries of the British had let their guard down, with it being
Christmas. With a little extra boost of too much booze in their bellies, the Americans
caught them by surprise. While only losing four men, Washington was able to capture 900
British soldiers. Taking advantage of his success, Washington proceeded to Princeton where
he had another big victory before escaping the still superior British forces by
withdrawing to safety across the Delaware in Pennsylvania.
It wasn’t the decisive battle of the war. The following summer, Washington
suffered other setbacks, including the British occupation of Philadelphia. However, the
victory was able to renew enough confidence that he was able to keep the army and
fledgling nation together. If not for the Christmas night attack on Trenton, we all might
be singing God Save the Queen and drinking tea today.
I often wonder if the people of this nation still have the fortitude and courage to
fight for the principles that Washington and the other patriots of the American Revolution
fought to establish. Yet, I had my faith restored in at least 228 of our leaders. They
showed the same type of courage, or at least their allegiance to the same principles that
Washington was fighting for last weekend, when the Congress of the United States impeached
President Bill Clinton for his illegal actions. Clinton’s behavior threatens our most
important fundamental beliefs that thousands laid down their lives to defend. It was the
only choice that could have been made that wouldn’t completely shatter the foundation
of this country. At least for the time being, we remain the Shining City on the Hill
spoken of over the span of hundreds of years from John Winthrop to Ronald Reagan.
George Washington, whose courage and leadership shown through the cold and wind on the
Delaware River that Christmas night so long ago, remained one of the bright lights in
establishing the Shining City on a Hill. It led him to the banks of the Potomac where, as
the first President, his example lit the way for all who followed in his footsteps.
Over time, Washington’s legendary exemplary character has given him the mythical
status of the man who could not tell a lie. There have been many times when the light of
the Shining City has grown dim and was close to going out, but with people who clung fast
to the foundations of the city and fought to fortify them, they overcame and the light
once again shown brightly.
That great light is again dim today. We sank to the level where we have a President who
cannot tell the truth, rather than one who cannot tell a lie. All but 5 elected members of
Clinton’s political party show the same open contempt for the entire foundation on
which this country stands. It is even more disturbing that it appears that a majority of
Americans share the same view.
The actions of President Clinton and his supporters reminds me of the immoral conduct
of the Southern Democrats in the decade prior to the Civil War. One Southern Democrat
Congressman, Preston Brooks, sank so low that he walked onto the floor of the United
States Senate and beat Abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner senseless with a cane. Sumner
almost died, and it was a couple years before he was able to return to the Senate. With
the raving lunacy of some of the Democratic Congressmen in their support for the Predatory
Perjurer in Chief, I almost suspected them to start a riot.
Of course, on national television, Clinton supporter Alec Baldwin advocated sinking
even lower than Brooks. Baldwin who is best known as the actor married to Kim Basinger is
also very active in politics. He founded several political organizations and has to be
considered a mover and shaker in the political circles of Democrats. Baldwin lost control
and turned into a raving maniac, saying that House Judiciary Chairman, Henry Hyde, and his
family should be taken out and stoned to death because Hyde stood for the Constitution and
rule of law.
In the face of such venom, Hyde and his compatriots acted with honor and dignity. The
words of old King Solomon seem appropriate:
The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a
ruler of fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.
As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. The
heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left. Even as he
walks along the road, the fool lacks sense and shows everyone how stupid he is. If a ruler
rises in anger against you do not leave your post; calmness can lay great errors to rest.
Ecclesiastes 9:17,18, 10:1-4 NIV
Congress remained calm and stuck to its post. It is now time for the Senate and all
defenders of the Constitution to do the same. I still believe the America people are good
at heart. With courageous leadership, we will overcome evil once again -- just as happened
with the leadership of George Washington in the Revolution, Abe Lincoln in the Civil War,
Martin Luther King in the Civil Rights movement and many other imperfect men who still
worked for the highest ideals. Because they reached them, they will always be venerated.
This is why the center of our government on the banks of the Potomac has been the
greatest in the world, despite our failings. We have even been able to heal most of the
wounds from our Civil War, which would not have happened without the courage of people who
refused to continue tolerating slavery, our nation’s greatest sin. This is
well-illustrated in a true story I read a couple of days ago.
In the spirit of Christmas, let us return once again to the waters of the Delaware
River on Christmas Eve 1875, one day short of 99 years after Washington saved the nation
by crossing the Delaware River. Ira Sankey was traveling down the Delaware River on a
steamship in possibly the same place where Washington had crossed it. Sankey was trying to
make it home to his family in Pennsylvania in order to celebrate Christmas with them.
Sankey was quite a celebrity. He was a gospel singer for the famous evangelist, Dwight
Moody. Sankey was returning from a trip to England with Moody and was upset that he might
not make it home for Christmas. He was kind of cranky, wanting to be left alone. To his
dismay, someone recognized him and asked for him to sing them a song. He agreed and a
small crowd gathered. For some reason, Sankey felt compelled to sing a William Bradbury
hymn, Savior Like a Shepard Lead Us. The song struck the hearts of the weary
Christmas travelers. They became quiet in their own thoughts, reflecting on (as we say
today) the reason for the season.
Just then, a man of similar age to Sankey approached him. Sankey had never seen the man
before. The man asked him if he had been a soldier in the Civil War. After Sankey said
"yes," the man asked if Sankey remembered being on night guard duty somewhere in
Maryland. Sankey thought a minute, and his memory was soon jogged that it had been at
Sharpsburg.
The man then told him that he had been in the Confederate Army. Unknown to Sankey, he
had been in the same place that night. Sankey had been standing in the moonlight, and the
Confederate soldier in the woods saw him in his gun sight. The Confederate soldier was
ready to pull the trigger when Sankey started singing Savior like a Shepherd Lead Us,
which was a song the Confederate soldier’s mother used to sing. Hearing the
inspirational song from the beautiful voice made the man unable to pull the trigger and
end the man’s life -- a man who later inspired thousands of others with his voice.
The power of a strong character on the shared principles that were, for a time,
forgotten were able to come through on a night when nobody else was watching. This led to
a great deal of good. On this Christmas, let us stand fast in our most noble virtues with
the faith that good will triumph.
