Isaac Davis

[Brumley Dog]

As I'm preparing myself to give our shooters a history lesson, the person I am most impressed with is the man of Acton, Isaac Davis. He knew there was going to be trouble, so he rounded up everyone willing to defend his town. He built a shooting range behind his house to teach marksmanship. He made sure everyone had the right equipment and drilled them with it, over and over again. Sound familiar?

We, as instructors, are Isaac Davis.

When the men of Acton were asked to lead the charge at Concord bridge, none of them were afraid to go because they knew what they were about. They advanced with a regularity that astonished the British and made them afraid. They AIMED and they HIT and the world's most powerful army broke and ran.

Isaac Davis didn't live to see it but the people he trained did well, and they kept on doing well.

Now It's our turn.

-Jesse

[PHenry]

Also, think of the choice he made. He had a sign that he would not survive, as is evidenced in his wife's diary, by what he said when he left. To lose a husband in New England in 1775 would have been a hardship of desperate measure and still he went, knowing in his heart that he would not return and that his family would suffer greatly - even more so than their current situation which was not good, as all of the kids were sick, two showing signs of Scarlett Fever - a disease that had no cure then and was often fatal.

Also look at Captain John Parker, who was very sick - no sleep, weight loss, extreme fatigue and malaise and yet when he got the call, he did not falter, did not ask someone to go in his stead - a reasonable request considering his condition. The men of Lexington chose him and they chose well, judging by his actions. He must have knowed that his men needed his leadership and dragged his sorry, sick, arse out of a warm bed to face possible death at the hands of a professional army.

Heroes are not born. They are revealed by their actions in times of crisis. This is the single trait that they share with cowards. No man, or woman, knows what they are made of until adversity offers them a chance to learn. Words mean nothing. Onl deeds matter - only hits count.

We can never repay this debt - they are gone and as u say - it's our turn now - our turn to pay it forward by passing their traditions on to the next generation. I see the core of it as the value assigned to Liberty. That's what made the special, what made them different.

Glad to have u on the team sir!
PHenry

[Fred]

    You're right. Isaac Davis is a great example for the rest of us.

     A self-starter, totally unafraid, committed.

     But all he faced was British lead and a lingering death from gangrenous wounds (but he was "lucky" on that point).

     What he didn't have to face is what we have to face today: massive ignorance, massive apathy, massive laziness.

      He was part of a society which believed in liberty to the point of being willing to risk life and freedom for it.

      We are not.

      We are fighting a much tougher enemy - invisible and immensely strong (asked some neighbor to "come to an Appleseed" lately?).

      It's far better, more satisfying, and instantly gratifying to take rifle in hand and use your marksmanship skills to gun down a physical opponent (at least, in theory).

      But that's not the deck we've been dealt on this planet.

      We've been dealt a much harder hand to play.

      It's hard to ignore a physical enemy, right in front of you, shooting at you; it's really easy to ignore one you can't see, one which is not shooting at you.

      Our current battle requires, IMHO, a special level of commitment not often seen in 21st-century America.

      The challenge is greater, the battle to the persistant, the rewards far in the future (say, about 2021 ).

      In fact, you can say our situation is "trying".

"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 it 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. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value."

[PHenry]

Agreed, and obviously spoken by a man well acquainted with what I like to call the "hard sell" - saving a country, in this day and age, is exactly that - a hard sell - even to thems one might assume otherwise. 

I will imagine that you too have heardt every excuse - "It's too late", "It'll never happen here", I'd love to, but I need to...(insert near any activity), "I already know how to shoot", "Maybe next month", "I need to get a new (insert rifle widget)", "I'm waiting for....", blah, blah, blah. Next!

Much to be done. No time to waste. Must find people worthy of awakening, and let the rest go. Sad Alternative! But, can a virtuous man hesitate in his choice? 

I will not falter, as Liberty is the duty of every man and woman. Our cause is just, our methods unimpeachable. Surely the Creator will see the High Sons and Daughters of Liberty through once again!

[tittiger]

You are right Fred and until recently I was very pessimistic about the people waking up in time.

Many, many people have been working, for in many cases decades, to accomplish this even when it looked like they were just uselessly pounding their heads  against the wall.  I am indebted to all those other people as it looks like we are heading toward waking up a critical mass of people.

Let's not slow down but redouble our  efforts.  Thanks for the opportunity to join you Fred  and thank you Jesse for your post and good luck on your history lesson.