On Christmas Day, 1776,
the American Revolution appeared to be dead.
George Washington's
Continental Army had been driven out of New Jersey.
The British and Hessian
troops, who assumed the serious fighting was over, had entered winter
quarters.
King George III and the
British Parliament appeared set to continue an abusive set of policies that
American colonists said deprived them of their rights as Englishmen. The battle
cry of "No Taxation without Representation" went
unsatisfied.
That all changed after
Washington's crossing of the Delaware River in a midst of a driving blizzard on
December 24, 1776. The "Ten Crucial Days" that began with
an audacious strike against the unsuspecting Hessian garrison in Trenton,
culminating with the Battle of Princeton, reinvigorated
the Revolution.
As much as we all
rightly celebrate The Spirit of 1776, in too many respects our nation is harmed
by the progressive counter-revolution that undermines the republican form of
government established by our Founding Fathers. Just before it left for
Christmas, Congress authorized over a trillion dollars in spending with little
public debate or disclosure. And then there is President Obama and his allies'
demonstrable contempt for the very notion of representative
government.
That's why our mission
at Judicial Watch assumes a heightened importance going into 2015. If the ideals
of our American Revolution seem likes ghosts now in our "modern" government, it
is worth recalling that the situation looked even more dire before the two
Battles of Trenton and the Battle of Princeton.
Yes, there were two
Battles of Trenton. And they serve as a dual lesson of the audacity and
perseverance we will now need in order to continue overcoming the odds we
face.
After crossing the
Delaware River on Christmas night in 1776, Washington's Continental Army
surprised the Hessians who were staying in what is now the Old Barracks Museum
and in other homes throughout Trenton. He re-crossed again four days later to
confront the full brunt of the British Army led by General Charles
Cornwallis. And the American rag-tag forces' twin victories in those battles
spurred our nation on to victory, and ought to give each of us cause for
encouragement in light of contemporary challenges arguably far less serious than
those our Revolution faced in Southern New Jersey 238 years
ago.
Washington himself saw
the hand of Providence at work in his Christmas crossing. An abiding faith can
go a long way, even in darkest moments.
There is one Christmas
message that should give us indomitable courage for these troubling times. It's
from Isaiah 9:6, and it defines the hope that lies within us all: "For unto us a
child is born, unto us a son is given - and the government shall be upon his
shoulders."
Ultimately, man's power
is limited on this Earth, contrary to what today's progressives and their
antecedents might try to tell you. And we know that, in the words of one of my
favorite Christmas carols, "the wrong shall fail, the right
prevail."
Merry
Christmas to you and yours from all of us here at Judicial Watch, and a Happy
New Year.
Tom
Fitton
President
