Christmas 2010, Thanks be to God, Thanks to our forefathers and military, LTC Terry Lakin

“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”…Thomas Paine

On this Christmas morning, December 25, 2010, we have much to be grateful for. First and foremost, thanks be to God.

We should also be thankful for our forefathers, guided by the providence of God, who made it possible for us to continue the struggle for liberty.

“A week before Christmas ’77 Washington’s army took up winter quarters at Valley Forge on the west side of the Schuylkill. Although the General’s choice of location was sharply criticized, the site he had selected was central and easily defended. Then came a cruel race with time to get huts erected before the soldiers, barefoot and half naked, froze to death. Hundreds of horses did in fact starve to death, and for the army starvation was a mortal danger. “No meat, no meat!” was the constant wail. Improvements came about after Nathanael Greene assumed the duties of Quartermaster General on March 23rd.

Yet, despite the ever-present fear of mutiny, no real dissaffection occurred. As Hessian Major Baurmeister conceded, the army was kept from disintegrating by the “spirit of liberty.” Men and officers accepted their tragic plight with a sense of humor and extraordinary forbearance, but it was an ordeal that no army could be expected to undergo for long. Nathanael Greene wrote to General Washington, “God grant we may never be brought to such a wretched condition again.””…”The Spirit of ‘Seventy Six”

The struggle to live free under the rule of law ordained in the US Constitution did not end with our founding. It must be preserved everyday of our lives. We must stand with those like minded individuals who carry forth the spirit of 76, and the ideals of the Declaration of Independence and as Abraham Lincoln stated:

“We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.”

One such man is LTC Terry Lakin. He is imprisoned for doing his duty to defend the US Constitution from foreign and domestic enemies. He is, as Lincoln stated, doing his duty to  “overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.” We all have that duty.

Let us be thankful for patriots like LTC Terry Lakin, stand beside them in the struggle and work hard to free LTC Lakin and restore the foundations of this country.