Two hundred and forty-fi ve
years ago, on April 19 of 1775,
the American Revolution began.
To many “progressives”
in the year 2020, the concepts
motivating the courageous
patriots who stood up to an
increasingly authoritarian
government are foreign and
diametrically opposed to their
core beliefs.
Indeed, the very basic conditions
that allowed the heroes
in Lexington and Concord are
opposed by today’s leftist politicians.
They would have sided
with King George’s attempt
to confi scate the weapons the
Minutemen employed to stand
up to the oppressive Redcoats.
But fortunately, they weren’t
around then, and “The shot
heard round the world” was
fi red, beginning the American
Revolution and changing forever
the relationship between
individuals and governments
across the globe. It is a battle
that continues to be fought,
even in the United States.
The history is straightforward:
The British had been moving
steadily to reduce both the
private and community rights
of their American colonies. The
colonists, separated by time
and distance from London, had
grown accustomed not only to
governing themselves, but to
the practice of freedoms considerably
greater than those in
effect anyplace else across the
globe. It was becoming increasingly
apparent that the colonists’
liberties were being dismantled.
To protect themselves
from the escalating abuse, the
colonists stored up ammunition
to protect themselves.
The National Archives describes
what happened next:
“On the evening of April 18,
1775, the British authorities,
acting on information that a
supply of ammunition for the
local militia was being stored
in Concord, sent British regular
troops from Boston to confi
scate the arms. Skirmishes
occurred in several places,
most notably on Lexington
town green and afterwards at
Old North Bridge spanning the
Concord River in Concord. The
incidents are referred to as the
Lexington Alarm and the Battle
of Concord. The colonists
felt wronged. They had been
fi red upon unjustly.
Would those courageous
patriots, who challenged the
greatest military power of their
time in a bid to preserve their
rights, feel comfortable in today’s
America? The disturbing
answer is no. The fact is, the
rights those colonists fought
for are now frowned upon by a
growing segment of the political
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and cultural elites.
Even more controversial,
the First Amendment, (protecting
Freedom of speech, assembly,
and religion) is in danger.
Many on the Left jump at
any opportunity to punish free
speech: They object to the fact
that “hurt feelings may be triggered”
or a particular group
may be “offended.”
Over the past decade, progressive
politicians had been
at the forefront of the move
to limit free speech. Senator
Schumer (D-NY) actually introduced
legislation to limit
the First Amendment’s application
to some political speech.
(The measure was, fortunately,
defeated.) Numerous campaign
regulations limit the ability
of the citizenry to openly support
candidates without fi rst
jumping through bureaucratic
hoops.
Some elected offi cials are
not shy about their goals. Rep.
Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) boldly announced
that he would “love
to be able to regulate the content
of speech” He particularly
spoke about restricting Fox
News. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-
Cortex (D-NY) threatened Donald
Trump Jr. with a subpoena
merely for questioning her economic
views.
On a governmental level,
the trend reached a high point
during the Obama Administration,
when some dissenting
reporters were harassed and
their personal records were
obtained by the federal government.
In addition, the Internal
Revenue Service was employed
to suppress the Tea Party. The
former President’s Attorney
General Loretta Lynch even
considered “criminally prosecuting”
those that merely disagreed
with Obama’s climate
change views.
There is an even deeper
challenge. Those “Minutemen”
who formed at the Lexington
Town Green and at the
Old North Bridge in Concord
believed that all people had inherent
rights. They stood on
the principle that their individual
rights didn’t come as a result
of a law being passed, but
from nature, or God. But today,
Progressives hold the opposite
view.
News commentator Chris
Cuomo disturbingly displayed
what has become a major
thrust of Progressive political
philosophy.
The exchange, as described
in the Washington Times:
“CNN anchor Chris Cuomo…
Had an exchange with Alabama
Chief Justice Roy
Moore…Moore said ‘…our
rights contained in the Bill of
Rights do not come from the
Constitution, they come from
God.’ Cuomo disagreed: ‘Our
laws do not come from God,
your honor…’”
No less a person than a
United States Supreme Court
Justice has also expressed a
similar lack of respect for the
central principle behind the
entire structure of American
government and law. During
the confi rmation hearings of
Obama Supreme Court nominee
Elena Kagan, Sen. Tom
Coburn had a testy exchange
in which he pushed her to
state her belief in fundamental
rights. She evaded answering.
On this day, when far too
few recall the signifi cance of
what those heroic patriots did,
the rights they bequeathed to
us are in real jeopardy. It is
time for Americans to again
stand up to tyranny.
CIVIC CENTER
Community Action
Civic Association
benefiting
WheelsForWishes.org
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