OCR Text |
Show Volume XXX Issue V The Ogden Valley News Page 3 December 15, 2022 Letters to the Editor Fourteenth Annual “Give Thanks” Charity Fun Run a Success This year we had an amazing turn out at the fourteenth annual “Give Thanks” Charity Run. Over a hundred people braved the 15-degree weather to support the Warrior Pantry and Youth Futures. The Warrior Pantry is a student-led pantry that provides food to students who need it. Youth Futures provides safe shelter, collaborative resources, respectful guidance, and diverse support to homeless, unaccompanied, runaway, and at-risk youth in Utah. This year $1,190 was donated and a trailer full of food. A big shout out to Burton Dental and The Drip (the new drink shop next to the Valley Market) for warming up the runners with hot chocolate and coffee. We live in such an amazing community! Alisa Dunn, Huntsville The Dunn family. The Burton family. A Christmas to Remember sixty rounds of cartridges served out to him…. By Shanna Francis A brief Google search of historical events that have occurred on Christmas brought up a few I’d remembered from studying history, and several I hadn’t. Noted Christmas events include the crowning of the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne in 800; the crowning of King William the Conqueror of England in 1066; the end of the War of 1812 with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent in 1814; the inspirational World War I Christmas Truce of 1914; and, of course, George Washington’s crossing of the Delaware on Christmas night 1776 as he led 2,400 members of his rag-tag Continental Army over the icy Delaware—a success that may be considered a Christmas miracle in its own right. Washington’s crossing was planned for the site of McConkey’s and Johnson’s ferries, while additional Continental troops made plans to cross downstream. But that evening, a strong storm blew in bringing with it severe weather. The already below-freezing temperatures that accompanied the sunny Pennsylvania Christmas day continued to plummet as evening fell. Christmas morning, Washington had sent a letter off to Philadelphia to American Revolution financier and signer of the Declaration of Independence Robert Morris, thanking him for the receipt of much-needed supplies, including blankets for his men. He then alerted him of new intelligence. A message sent by the enemy had been intercepted, which noted that the British were planning on crossing the Delaware as soon as the water froze over sufficiently to move atop and across the ice. The time had come to attack or be attacked. Washington then mused in the letter, “It is in vain to ruminate upon, or even reflect upon the Authors or Causes of our present Misfortunes. We should rather exert ourselves to look forward with Hopes, that some lucky chance may yet turn up in our Favour.... I hope the next Christmas will prove happier than the present to you and to Dear Sir, Your sincere Friend and humble servant.” David Hackett Fischer writes in his book Washington’s Crossing, that members of the Continental Army had been summoned up and down the Delaware on the Pennsylvania side for a secret mission. John Greenwood, a fifer in the military band, wrote, “Every man had “Washington Crossing the Delaware” is one of America’s most iconic and well-known pieces of art. It was painted in 1851 by German artist Emanuel Leutze. It shows General Washington navigating through the frozen Delaware on Christmas with his compatriots braving the elements. I put some in my pockets and some in my little cartridge box.” Washington and his staff had planned to cross over the Delaware for a surprise attack on Trenton before dawn. Troops were broken up into three groups for three different strategic landing sites on the other side of the Delaware that would allow the men to surround the British Troops that were camped at Trenton. Some Continental troops were to land above the British, some below. To successfully carry out plans, it would be necessary to adhere to a tight schedule: assemble and begin the crossing right after dark, cross the Delaware, then begin their march for the surprise attack no later than midnight—under cover of darkness. From the beginning, things went awry. Many Continentals were late for the assemblage in Pennsylvania. Many were ill, many others had no shoes, and a storm was brewing. Fischer writes, “The men were burdened with packs, blankets, weapons, three days’ provision, and sixty rounds of ammunition. They also had artillery with them and did not reach the assembly area until well after dark….” By the time Washington’s troops completed their march to the shores of the Delaware, a driving rain had set in, and troops were dismayed to find massive piles of ice causing ice jams up and down along the water’s edges as water levels rose and winds howled. In such situations, chucks of ice are forced against one another in uneven patterns, sometimes as thick as five feet. In these circumstances, the icelogged water becomes impassable—by boat or foot. On Christmas night 1776, the Delaware had swollen, its current raging due to the heavy deluge. “The currents were swift and strong” and storm clouds blocked most all light from the stars or moon. Because of the ice jams, the various troops had to continue marching along the banks of the river, trying to find a suitable site for crossing, unblocked by the ice jams. By 11:00 p.m., most of the troops were able, finally, to make the crossing, only to be stopped, once again, in their progress by ice and ice jams on the Jersey side of the Delaware. Some troops were able to reach the shore by walking across the ice, but the boats carrying the heavy artillery were “carried away in the ice and could not be got over” during their initial attempts. Efforts were made to break through the ice. Some groups had decided to turn around and retreat but found the retreating situation just as dire. Captain Thomas Rodney wrote, “… the wind blew very hard and there was much rain and sleet, and there was so much floating ice in the River that we had the greatest difficulty to get over again, and some of our men did not get over that night. As soon as I reached the Pennsylvania shore, I received orders to march to our quarters, where I arrived a little before daylight very cold and wet.” By midnight, Fischer writes, “the entire operation was on the verge of disaster. Of Washington’s three forces, two were defeated by ice on the river. Only the northern force remained at McConkey’s Ferry. But there, at the water’s edge, one important part of the plan went right. ‘The boats were in readiness,’ Major Wilkinson remembered. A large flotilla of small CHRISTMAS STORY cont. on page 11 By Shanna Francis Be Resolved…. An ongoing concerted effort has been in In Benjamin Netanyahu’s recently released autobiography, Bibi: My Story, the reader is reminded of the fervor, passion, sacrifice, cost, and patriotism that goes into the making of a new state—Israel. A parallel can be made with the founding of, arguably, the greatest nation of all time—The United States of America. As a relatively new country—founded May 14, 1948—the Israeli people’s zeal for their land is still apparent. Unlike in America, Israeli’s dedication to home and country is heightened by the relentless threat to the nation’s continued existence—a threat that has never dimmed. It is further reinforced through centuries of threats to the very existence of her people—the Jews. Netanyahu notes a comment his older brother Yoni—who was responsible for the successful rescue of a hundred hostages taken from a hijacked plane, losing his own life in the daring rescue in Entebbe, Uganda in the summer of 1976—once made to a high school teacher while the family was living in the U.S. where their father was doing research and teaching graduate and doctoral students at a Pennsylvania university. Yoni reflected, “Here in America, my classmates don’t know what they are living for, but in Israel, we know.” In Israel, each is living to survive, to hang onto their very existence, for their freedoms, for their country. This reminder is with them every day as they walk the streets going about their daily lives. In America, many have forgotten the “why.” They take their freedoms for granted. They take their country for granted. They no longer are proud of their heritage and are even taught to be ashamed of it. How foolish. This inciteful statement of Yoni’s was made in the 1970s—six years before he would lose his life serving his country. How much truer is it today! While the early patriots of the new American colonies knew exactly what they were living for, dying for, and spending their fortunes for—the establishment of a new nation, under God, where the great American experiment in freedom and rule by the people could be explored and developed—today many Americans have become embarrassed by their cultural heritage, even trying to undo, rewrite, and erase their history. Why? Has there ever been a better form of government? For more than two-hundred years, patriotism and love of country and the freedoms it stood for were something that was instilled in the American psyche and introduced and inculcated in youth through the institution of the family, school system, and society in general. Today there is a political agenda to discredit, demean, discount, and even demonize those who endeavor to carry on this great American patriotic tradition and of teaching traditional values based on God, family, and country. Politically motivated propaganda is successfully changing the culture and views of Americans, successfully getting them to believe that being patriotic makes you a fascist or a bigot. the works for decades to discredit Western Liberalism—a limited state and free society that endorses the concepts of freedom, liberty, democracy, and market capitalism. This effort desires to limit and distort the “Great Debate” of civilization and the balance of power between authoritarianism and liberal democracy, between dictatorial rule by a few and rule by the many—the people. Those behind it desire to take away the ability of even having a debate through shaming, silencing, and delegitimizing the Western Liberal side of the debate— something that has been successfully achieved throughout time in all authoritarian regimes. What’s at stake? Freedom of the masses through control of the masses. A Law & Liberty article titled “Liberalism’s Civilization Problem” by Samuel Gregg (Sept. 7, 2020) sums it up this way. The American Founding is a distinct political and cultural achievement, but also draws upon the classical, religious, and Enlightenment sources which have shaped Western identity. Moreover, it continues to inspire not just Americans but also many others precisely because of the American Founding’s universalistic claims. It’s not a coincidence that American progressives want to ‘change the narrative’ about the Founding via endeavors like the 1619 Project. They know that dismantling the Founding will delegitimize the institutions of ordered liberty which the progressive left want to unravel.” While the most powerful authoritarian countries—Putin’s Russia, Jinping’s China, Jongun’s North Korea, and Erdogan’s Turkey, have been working, unceasingly and untiringly, internally and externally, to bolster their image and economic and political standing, in America, outside and inside forces have been doing the same to undercut, delegitimize, and bring down America’s Western Liberalism tradition founded on democratic freedoms. What is at stake? Life as we’ve known it for almost 250 years, even civilization as we’ve known it. It is in the laboratory of a free and civilized society that the most profound inventions and discoveries are made—scientific and technological. It is here where arts and culture flourish. It is here where business and industry thrive. It is here where information can be distributed most widely and accurately. Steve Forbes wisely—and, perhaps, prophetically—noted in 1997 in an article titled “The Moral Basis of a Free Society,” “As the 20th century comes to an end, the world is learning from America that the economic and political freedoms that come from capitalism and democracy are the most powerful and productive way to organize society. At the same time, we in America are discovering that capitalism and democracy alone are not enough to sustain a healthy, vibrant society. We are learning the hard way that a self-governing nation must consist of self-governing individuals. A breakdown in the moral fabric of society has dire conse- BE RESOLVED cont. on page 10 |