“Lay Down Your Arms, You Damned Rebels!”

It was before daybreak on an April morning in 1775. Paul Revere and William Dawes had made their famous rides through Massachusetts to warn the minutemen that the British were coming to confiscate rebel munitions stored at Concord. The Redcoats would need to pass through Lexington to reach Concord, and it was there that Captain John Parker assembled his small militia, mostly comprised of relatives, friends, and neighbors. The assembly was meant more as a demonstration of political and military determination than to confront or even impede the British forces. The small 80 man militia gathered in the commons in a parade formation, not blocking the road to Concord and in plain sight. Instead of just continuing on to Concord the Redcoats turned to confront the patriots and disarm them. One of the officers began waving his sword about and arrogantly shouting, “Lay down your arms, you damned rebels!” Greatly outnumbered, and not intending to begin a battle foolishly, Captain Parker instructed his men to go home. His voice, raspy and muffled by tuberculosis, went unheard by several of the men amidst the yelling of the Brits, and the ones who did hear were not quick to disperse; none lay down their arms. A shot was fired, no one knows from which side or by who, but it was “the shot heard round the world”. The Brits opened fire on the Colonists killing eight, and wounding ten, and the Revolutionary War had begun.

Fast forward to 2014, Virginia. Last week’s primary where the house majority leader Eric Cantor was ousted by relative unknown David Brat despite being tremendously outspent and completely unsupported by any national Tea Party organizations. Brat’s success seems to have resulted from a number of factors. His positions on immigration amnesty and federalism stood in stark contrast with the formerly conservative Cantor who seemed to be increasingly moderating his positions with an eye toward eventually replacing John Boehner as Speaker of the House. Democrats were encouraged by their leadership to vote in the open primaries for Brat as a spoiler vote against Cantor, and a few did. Probably the most important factor was Cantor’s arrogance. His focus was stuck in Washington, and though his face could often be seen on national news programs, it was rarely seen in his district or at town hall meetings. His indignation at being challenged was reflected in highly negative attack ads against Brat which only served to strain credulity by the voters, and give Brat increased name recognition.

This has sent shockwaves through Washington, it’s the first time a majority leader has been ousted in a primary since the position was created in the 1800’s. It goes against this year’s narrative that the Tea Party is dead. Though unsupported by the big Tea Party organizations, Brat embodies much of what the grass roots movement stands for, smaller government, and adherence to the constitution. The geniuses on the mainstream media, the ever helpful opposition Democrats, the finger pointing establishment Republicans, and even the newly pragmatic national Tea Party organizations, all have been telling us the same thing… “Lay down your arms, you damned rebels!” But the victory of David Brat shows that at least in Virginia, the rebels are not yet ready to disperse.

It is consistent with the arrogance of the establishment that they resent being challenged. Most likely it is their insecurity that causes them to wish for the elimination of dissenting opinions, to see a challenge as a personal insult. Like the Redcoats at Lexington these would also be better served to pursue their mission without being sidetracked by their animosity. Their preoccupation with challenges to their power base only focuses attention on their opponents and makes their own positions appear dubious as they seem less willing to defend them than to attack their detractors.

Repeatedly we are told that the battle is over, the science is settled, that opposition is doomed. Like the collective alien villain from Star Trek, the Borg, the opening salvo is always “Resistance is futile.”

” We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile.”

“Lay down your arms, you damned rebels!” But like the militia at Lexington, we will do no such thing. We will not give up our guns, we will not betray our ideas, we will not abandon sound judgement. We will not be silent, we will not submit. We will not lose hope. Like those patriots, and those who followed, against what seemed hopeless odds, we will not depend on organizations, political pull, or filthy lucre. We have in our arsenal a greater force, an eternal power… spirit, the American spirit.

“Spirit, that made those heroes dare

To die, and leave their children free,

Bid Time and Nature gently spare

The shaft we raise to them and thee.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

IMHO: No doubt David Brat was told repeatedly that he had no chance to defeat Eric Cantor… resistance is futile. Likewise we here in New York are consistently reminded that Cuomo is a lock… resistance is futile. The Safe Act is the law, as is the Affordable Care Act… resistance is futile. No group of common citizens can stand against the corruption and overwhelming power of the political machine in Washington, the Redcoats of our day… resistance is futile. We can bow to that fatalism. We can accept the notion that America is doomed, the damage done, the death rattle upon us; or we can stand as our predecessors have in days every bit as dark. We can call forth the Spirit that emboldened them, empowered them, enabled them. We have the means, we have the technology, we have the heritage. All that remains to be answered, do we have the will?