Do
we know who the Patriots, Traitors and Heroes of today really are?
By Dick
Gentile
We
talk very little today of patriots and traitors and perhaps that is a good thing
because I dare say very few of us truly know the meaning of each term. Webster
says a patriot is one who loves his
country and zealously supports its authority and interest, and a traitor is one that betrays another’s trust, or is false to an
obligation, or duty. I have
recently found that many of our contemporaries confuse a patriot with a hero.
Webster defines a hero as one marked
by courage and daring. Our current generation has no idea what a patriot is and
is really confused with what makes a person a hero. For example, today we find
the terms "prisoner of war" and "hero" used synonymously.
Unfortunately not every prisoner of war comes even close to earning the title of
hero. We even find people of today so confused that they debase the title of
hero by bestowing it on athletes and entertainers. Most of my generation thinks
of Sergeant Alvin York, Lieutenant Audie Murphy and the other “Medal of
Honor” winners as heroes.
Lets
go back to just what a patriot is. A true patriot may or may not be a hero. For
example, every signer of our Declaration
of Independence earned the title of patriot
when they signed their names to that great document. In signing, they
pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. Yes indeed that
action took courage, but it is what happened to these men later that made them
true heroes.
Who
were these men that signed our Declaration
of Independence? They were lawyers, jurists, merchants; they were plantation
owners and farmers. By the standard of that time they were all men of means and
all well educated and they valued liberty. Standing tall, straight, and
unwavering, they pledged:
"For
the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the
divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes,
and our sacred honor."
They
signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well what they and their
families would pay for this act. This act was not only patriotic, but many would
say also daring and courageous; thus making them heroes.
When
I think of a traitor from that period of our history, General Benedict Arnold
jumps to mind because this man was a patriot turned traitor. For five years,
Arnold served the Patriot’s side of this nation's war for independence with
distinction. In one battle after another, including a dangerous assault against
the center of the British line at Saratoga, he showed his courage and daring and
was again wounded in the leg. No general was more imaginative, no field officer
more daring, and no soldier more courageous than Arnold. Yet Arnold has gone
down in history not as a patriot, not as a hero, but as a villain, a military
traitor who, as commander of the American fort at West Point, New York, in 1780,
schemed to hand it over to the British. Hated in America and treated with
contempt and coldness in Britain. Arnold died, as ever traitor should, a man
without a country.
Perhaps
we were never taught, or have forgotten we were British subjects at that time
and we fought our own government for independence! With that thought in, mind
you can understand why our Founding Fathers had a hatred for standing armies,
and made sure through the second amendment for everyone of us to be armed.
In
a sad time of American history, our once proud and glorious nation was at the
brink of suicide. Abraham
Lincoln, in talking about our nation's danger, said…
”At
what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever
reach us it must spring up amongst us.
It
cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot,
we
ourselves must be its author and finisher.
As
a nation of free men, we must live through all times, or die by suicide.”
Almost
any student of history can point to our present Federal Branch of Government to
prove Lincoln correct. The men and women in the three branches of our Federal
Government swore an oath of office to
uphold and defend Our Constitution. They are traitors because their actions subvert the Constitution and they
betray the trust of this nation and their obligation to duty.
Furthermore,
in the Judicial Branch, it is quite an easy matter to check the rulings of the
nine Supreme Court Justices to determine the fact that we presently have only
three patriots, four traitors and two [Kennedy and O’Connor] that have not
quite made up their minds. In the Legislative Branch’s Senate we have at best
two wannabe patriots and the other ninety-eight are all traitors to the core. In
the House of Representatives we have at least five and perhaps as many as ten
patriots in the four hundred and thirty five men and women that serve as our
elected Representatives. Again one only has to check the voting records to see
that most of these so call honorable Representatives sold out the Constitution
and the people of this nation to further their own political careers. Without a
doubt the most corrupt branch of the Federal Government for almost a hundred
years has been the Executive. Woodrow Wilson to William Jefferson Clinton have
all been traitors, some just more so than others. All you have to do is read the
records that are released about thirty years after they have left office to see
they were all liars and subverted the Constitution with Executive Orders and
corrupt endeavors. The present chief traitor is so brazen that he and his entire
administration work openly to sellout our sovereignty and Constitutional
Freedoms for a "One World Order".
We
should never take the terms patriot, hero, freedom and liberty for granted. We
must no longer accept a traitor in our government for any reason. Please take a
few minutes today and ponder how we can support the few men and women today
that strive to meet the mark of patriotism set by our Founding Fathers.
Then
please silently thank God and these patriots, and, in their honor, do
something to save this nation and the freedom they fought so hard and paid
such a high price for. Is that too much to ask?
