Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Thomas Paine, Paul Revere, Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry, and Samuel Adams.
These are common names when we think of Patriots of the original Revolution. Yet what do all these Patriots have in common? None of them were military men. Rather, these men where the thinkers, the orators, and the activists of the Patriot Movement, ultimately leading to the revolution and independence of the United States of America. Are the great military leaders whom we hold as patriots? George Washington and Nathanael Greene come to mind. Yet, both sought to be great men of the mind before they were revered as men of command.
Our greatest Patriots are not revered for their aptitude in battle, or their ability to conquer nations. They are revered because they are great thinkers whom applied their intellect toward a noble but delicate goal: freedom and liberty. They risk their lives for ideas and principles. While many were significantly wealthy, the taxes levied were not causing them to move into poor houses or lose estates. It was the affront to them as men, as free beings, shown through legislation passed by a government that gave them no representation the patriots could not stand for.
They did not arrive at such positions easily. As we can see in the history of the Colonies, it was a gradual process with a steady diet of intellectual conversation from which the Tree of Liberty grew. All considered themselves subjects of the King at one point in their lives, but came to realize that allegiance to a King that did not all subjects equal was self-defeating. They did not suddenly throw off the title of Englishmen, they petitioned, and lobbied, and wrote, and orated for years. It was only when military force was used to physically subdue those at Bunker Hill in 1775 that war was acknowledged as necessary. Be reminded that the Declaration of Independence was not formalized until July 1776!
What can we learn from these, the original American Patriots? I believe there are five points:
- Be a man of great thinking and conversation
- Through thinking and conversation, develop core principles
- Defend those principles wholeheartedly
- Use force only in self defense
- Be prepared to use force, should it be required
It behooves us to be, not just men of military and survival skills, but of skills in logic and philosophy as well. We must be willing to engage each other, and our opponents, in thoughtful mental skirmishes; steel sharpens steel, and so we must sharpen our wit. Having an open mind means being willing to entertain an idea without agree with it. We must dissect ideas, finding the truth behind them. From truth we then build OUR principles. With a foundation of infallible Truth, our Principles remain solid, allowing us to be men of great action when the time arises.
This is how our forefathers became great men. Not through military action, but through great thinking. With their minds they crafted resolute ideas; ideas that spread to their neighbors, their colleagues and even their opponents. They were prepared to wage war on the field of battle and in the civil public arena. Are you?
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