It has been a strange few years: around the world we have seen the reach of governments grow. Whether we agree or disagree with the specific justifications for the expansion of government, we simply cannot deny that virtually every government in the world has tried to expand its reach over the past several years. In some cases we all acceded to these; but whether the intention was for good or ill, the results have been the same: we have seen the reach of governments grow. And it has grown a very great deal.
In some places such as Hong Kong, for example, we have watched as a once vibrant, and very free city was crushed under what can only be called a tyrannical government.
Yet, there is always hope.
A number of years ago I found myself in the city of Dili. The city was a ruin. There was still sniping going on here and there, and the level of destruction was nothing short of breathtaking. In the city and across the small island (about the size of the state of Connecticut) less than 1% of the buildings were left standing - literally. All had been burned down. And as they departed, the Indonesian Army burned virtually every single piece of paper in the country; every building and every house (there were a handful of exceptions) was ransacked and burned: every deed, every book, every magazine, every title, every marriage certificate, birth certificate, death certificate, diploma or degree, every piece of currency turned into ash. And the people had been brutalized.
Yet, as some friends of mine and I walked through the city the people would come out and smile and shake our hands… And they told us why: they were free. And we earned a lesson on respect: we had been told to wear a colored - as opposed to subdued - US flag on our shoulders. Everyone recognized that flag. And loved and respected that flag. With that flag the little kids came out and took our hands. And the UN flags? They were what the snipers were aiming at.
We have all been captivated by the Ukrainian response to the attempted Russian conquest; they have fought back with skill, with daring, with heart. They have stood up to the would-be tyrant and refused to go quietly into the night. Their cities are being ground down into rubble; their nation’s economy is falling apart, one-quarter of the population has already been displaced, and more will follow. The Russian army appears to have settled into that tactic that they seem to have mastered in the past, in places like Grozny, or in Syria, or in a number of spots in Eastern Europe and Germany during WWII: they are using artillery to reduce the cities. But the Ukrainians grasp what the people of East Timor grasped, and what we seem to have forgotten: liberty, true freedom, is worth far more than any amount of money.
Year after year we have watched as our independence, and even our jobs, slipped away so that a certain few countries, the Peoples Republic of China in particular, could develop, so that they might grow richer. If we would just give them a bit more we were told, we have to understand how they feel, we have to see things from their perspective, and meanwhile their predatory economics continued, their strong-arming of their neighbors continued, their attempts to seize the South China Sea, their efforts to take control of the entire Himalaya water shed and turn it into a political weapon, their 7 decade long occupation of Tibet, the slow, painful eradication of the Uighurs… as well as the economic subjugation of certain sectors of our economy, all these things continued, all were given a “pass,” they all accelerated year by year, because we were told by the elites - who grew rich in the telling - that eventually they will love us for it, in their own way.
Now, we are once again dependent on others for our energy, for many of our consumer goods, for much of our clothing, even for technology that was developed in the United States.
What have we done? Did we sell our independence for a larger flat screen TV, a better cell phone, and designer T-shirts?
Have we reached a point that we need to relearn what Liberty means? Do we need to take some lessons from the citizens of Hong Kong? The people of East Timor? From Ukrainian farmers?
A famous Virginian once addressed a similar situation. In fact, 247 years ago this Wednesday. Before a meeting at St. John’s Church in Richmond he asked:
I know of no way of judging the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the... ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received?
Then he asked:
We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted?
He finished with this Question:
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?
And then he answered it… How are we going to answer it?
For those who are not familiar with Patrick Henry's Speech on "Give Me liberty or Give Me Death", below is the entire text of his speech:
Speech by Patrick Henry to the Second Virginia Revolutionary Convention meeting at St. John’s Church, Richmond, on March 23, 1775
No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The questing before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.
Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it. I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us: they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. 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 Boston! 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!