These Are the Times That Try Men's Souls

Two hundred and thirty-three years ago today Thomas Paine published the first in his series of articles know as The Crisis . The purpose of the articles was to steel his fellow countrymen for the long struggle that lay ahead in the Revolutionary War. The euphoria of Independence had evaporated and the cold reality of December had set in: The Americans were outmanned, outgunned and out of luck. The future looked bleak as Paine noted:

"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 by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."

"Tyranny, like hell," wrote Paine, "is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict,the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value."

I think of these words as we face the greatest threat to our liberty since World War II. A political minority is about to engineer the government takeover of one-sixth of our economy under the guise of "reforming" our healthcare system. This on top of the government takeover of most of our auto industry and the nationalization of our largest banks. This despite the fact that a majority of Americans are opposed to the government takeover of the healthcare industry.

Make no mistake: This is not about healthcare--anymore than the previous incursions were about making cars or making loans. This is about a hardcore leftist cabal operating with lightening speed to remake America from a land of opportunity and individual freedom to a land where all people are dependent on whatever the central government allows them to have. This cabal has operated with blazing speed because it knows the time is limited before Americans realize what's happened and begin trying to undo the damage. Their goal is to transform the economy so fundamentally that the transformation can never be undone.

As of this post, they've just gotten the 60th vote in the Senate to shut up debate on their healthcare bill, allowing it to go to conference with the House of Representatives. The remaking of healthcare into something controlled by the government brings us one step closer to a socialist-style republic.

This is the tyranny of the minority at its worst.

Paine was right. These are the times that try men's souls. The "sunshine patriots" of the summer's Tea Parties and town hall meetings have faded away. Little more than 30% of Americans  want to surrender our freedom and submit our future to a cadre of bureaucrats. But they control the machinery of government right now. For the rest of us, the future is bleak.

Just thought you might like to know.