Thus Be It Ever

For years now, I have wanted to serve in the United States Military.  It was not until recent years, however, that I gave serious consideration as to why I wanted to serve, and whether I should choose to serve, based on this desire.  Recently I found my answer in the inspired lyrics of our national anthem's third verse.

O thus be it ever, when free men shall stand,
 Between their loved homes, and the war's desolation.
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the hev'n rescued land,
Praise the Power that hath made, and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust!"
And the Star-Spangled banner in triumph shall wave,
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!

In high school, I studied extensively what it truly means to be a free man, and how unique it truly is to the American experience.  A free man, according to wise men such as St. Thomas Aquinas, John Locke, and many others, is a man who has the liberty to choose for himself what he is to do, and whom he is to be.  A free man should be free from coercion in this decision.  No government or band of thugs can be permitted to interfere in the life of a free man.  This kind of liberty, under the name of agency, was the key difference between the plans of God, our loving Heavenly Father, and Lucifer, the father of lies.  The freedom to choose our own paths is essential to God's plan of happiness.  Clearly the Father wants men to be free men. In the modern era, this level of freedom first existed in the United States.

As a relevant aside, consider "the war's desolation."  We here in the United States have been, by and large, spared from having the war's desolation on our own soil.  Twelve years ago today, however, that was not the case.  Our enemies struck right at us in our homes, killing over 3,000.  We were, and are, understandably shocked and appalled by what we saw.  Humans should not be killed.  The shedding of innocent blood is an abomination to the Lord. There is nothing good about combat, but I digress.

The main point of the verse is that free men, without coercion, choose to stand between the home they love, and the horror of war.  That is why I have chosen to serve.  I am a free man, and the idea of my beloved home, and more importantly, my loved ones who reside in that home, experiencing the tumult of conflict is utterly abhorrent to me.  I freely choose to stand between peril and my loved ones, though my life be taken in the effort.

I say this, not to glorify or draw attention to myself, but because I think that I am not unique in these feelings.  I am sure that, throughout the centuries, the American fighting man has had this same sense of duty to the ideas that have protected him, and protect his family.  Think of that verse the next time you see a man in uniform.  Think of him as one who has freely chosen to throw himself in the line of fire to protect what is important to him.  Pray day and night for Divine protection for him and his comrades.  He truly will conquer when our cause is just.  He will accept nothing less, because he loves you and his nation enough to sacrifice everything he has for it.  Let us truly make our motto "In God is our trust," for none else can deliver.  With trust in the Lord, and the sacrifice of the American fighting man, the Star Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave, every time.

FDR vs. the 20th Maine

On the afternoon of July Second, 1863, the 20^th Maine Infantry Regiment was given an extraordinarily daunting assignment.  Positioned on a rocky hill called Little Round Top, they represented the absolute far left flank of the Union line at Gettysburg.  They were tasked with holding that real estate against anything the Confederacy could throw at them.  If the 20^th Maine collapsed, the entire Union line would collapse.  Needless to say, the ensuing battle was fierce.  The 20^th Maine repulsed numerous Confederate attacks, sustaining heavy losses in the process.  Ammunition was running low, and the beleaguered regiment was hanging on by its fingernails.

            This is where Franklin Delano Roosevelt comes in.  He once said “When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on!”  That’s all well and good for a while, but what do you do when that’s not enough?  We all have limits.  What should you do when you reach them?

            Such was the 20^th Maine’s predicament.  They were placed at the end of their rope when they were told that the line stopped with them.  Any deviance, any movement, any sway on their part would spell disaster for the cause of freedom in Gettysburg Pennsylvania.  When they stood there, bloodied and unable to shoot back at the enemy, holding on was not going to be enough anymore.  If they simply held on, they would be defeated.

            Here, their commanding officer, Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, realized that tying a not and hanging on isn’t good enough anymore.  He understood something counter-intuitive.  Facing imminent death gives you certain freedoms.  If you’re going to die, why bother trying to protect yourself?  He had the vision to see that the worst kind of peril is the window for the greatest of audacity.  Knowing that his men would be slaughtered if they stayed, and knowing the enemy to be human, Colonel Chamberlain ordered a bayonet charge down the hill.

            The bold plan succeeded.  The Confederate forces broke and fled in a route before the onslaught of the impossible.  The line held, and the Union army went on to win a decisive victory in Gettysburg Pennsylvania. 

            Their audacity demonstrates that, when no longer to hold on to the end of your rope, there is a store of energy seldom tapped.  When they were beyond their capacity, they realized that the enemy was as well.  The difference between utter destruction and decisive victory was the decision to spend their seemingly dying energy to succeed, rather than to fail. In short, Colonel Chamberlain understood that  holding on to the end of the rope only works if you’re willing to climb it when you can’t hold on any longer.