Watch Live: Congressional Hearing on IRS Scandal

Live Now on TheBlaze Radio: ‘The Buck Sexton Show’

Rose Tennent: A Valley Forge moment for Occupy Wall Street?

Nov. 15, 2011 4:40pm Guest Post

Rose Tennent is co-host of the syndicated talk radio show, “America’s Morning Show” with Quinn & Rose, on FM Newstalk 104.7 and various affiliates across the nation, including XM Satellite Radio, channel 166. She originally shared these thoughts in a monologue while substitute hosting for Sean Hannity’s radio show on Veterans Day, November 11, 2011.

The Occupy Wall Street Movement is still making headlines today. But there was an OWS headline at the end of October that disturbed me. When the OWS protesters learned of the approaching cold weather and the possibility of the season’s first snow, they responded with, “This then is our Valley Forge moment.” That bothered me. A lot.

Their Valley Forge Moment? They couldn’t begin to handle a Valley Forge Moment. Those men—and only those men—who can claim a Valley Forge moment were part of a company of men who faced hardship like none we will ever know.

The men who fought at Valley Forge did not receive donations daily that included blankets and clothing. Some were half naked and some had no blankets for warmth. They didn’t have the military tents like the weatherproof ones that OWS has pitched. That was a luxury the army at Valley Forge did not enjoy. As a matter of fact, there were many who had no tents to sleep in at all.

George Washington said, “For the want of shoes, their marches through frost and snow might be traced by the blood from their feet. And they were almost as often without provisions as with them.”

The brave men of Valley Forge did not have a fancy former hotel chef preparing gourmet meals for them from food donated by organic farmers. They didn’t have iPhones, iPads, or iPods. They didn’t have half a million dollars sitting in a bank for a rainy day. When they were hungry, and they were hungry often, they didn’t vandalize grocery carts or inns for food they felt entitled to.

By December 1777 there were 2,899 men in camp that were unfit for duty because they were without shoes and clothes. Because of the weather and lack of provisions, many men’s legs and feet froze, turned black and were ultimately amputated.

By February of that same year, over 4,000 soldiers were rendered helpless because of the elements, sickness and under-nourishment.

To the OWS crowd, I say, don’t you—or anyone—dare compare yourselves to even the least of the men who truly lived a Valley Forge moment.

Unlike the occupiers, these men knew why they were there. They didn’t leave Valley Forge at night for the warmth and comfort of their homes and families. They stayed on in spite of their circumstances. They stayed on because they knew without a doubt what needed to be done and why.

They loved their country, and they loved liberty. They knew that the prize they were fighting for was worth any price. If necessary, they were prepared to purchase that liberty with their blood. And they bought it not just for themselves, but also for every person, including the occupiers, that would come after them.

These were noble men. No one should ever, ever presume to be “like” them. There are none “like” them. And to make that comparison is the highest insult to some of the most sacrificial men that this country has ever known.

The story of their endurance is legendary. On June 19, 1878, the Centennial of the evacuation of the Valley Forge encampment was celebrated. Asked to speak on this occasion was historian Henry Brown. The picture of their suffering and ultimate victory is painted by his oration:
————————————————–

The wind is cold and piercing on the old gulf road, and the snow flakes have begun to fall. Who is this that toils up yonder hill, his footsteps stained with blood? His bare feet peep through his worn out shoes, his legs nearly naked from the tattered remains of an only pair of stockings, his breeches not enough to cover his nakedness his shirt hanging in strings. His face thin, his look hungry, his whole appearance that of a man forsaken and neglected. On his shoulder he carries a rusty gun, and the hand that grasps the stock is blue with cold. His comrade is no better off, nor he who follows, for both are barefoot, and the ruts of the rough country road are deep and frozen hard.

A fourth comes into view, and still another. A dozen are in sight. Twenty have reached the ridge and there are more to come. See them as they mount the hill that slopes eastward into the great valley.

Thousands are in sight, but they are but the vanguard of the motley company that winds down the road until it is lost in the cloud of snowflakes that have hidden the gulf hills. Yonder are horsemen in tattered uniforms, and behind them cannon lumbering slowly over the frozen road, half dragged, half pushed by men.

No city full of good cheer and warm and comfortable homes awaits their coming. In yonder forest must they find their shelter, and on the northern slope of these inhospitable hills their place of refuge.

Perils shall soon assault them, more threatening than any they encountered under the windows of Cheew’s House or by the banks of the Brandywine. Trials that rarely have failed to break the fortitude of men await them here.

False friends shall endeavor to undermine their virtue and secret enemies to shake their faith. The congress whom they serve shall prove helpless to protect them, and their country herself seems unmindful of their sufferings.

The powers of evil shall not prevail against them for they are the Continental Army, and these are the Hills of Valley Forge!

My countrymen: The blood that stained this ground did not rush forth in the joyous frenzy of fight; it fell drop by drop from the heart of a suffering people. They who once encamped here in the snow fought not for conquest, not for power, not for glory, not for their country alone, not for themselves alone.

They served for posterity; they suffered here for the human race; they bore here the cross of all the peoples; they died here that freedom might be the heritage of all. It was humanity, which they defended; it was liberty herself that they had in keeping.

If they could return, whose forms have been passing in imagination before our eyes; if in the presence of this holy hour the dead could rise and lips dumb for a century find again a tongue, might they not say to us:

You do well, countrymen, to commemorate this time. You do well to honor those who yielded up their lives in glory here. Theirs was a perfect sacrifice, and the debt you owe them you can never pay.

Your lines have fallen in a happier time. The boundaries of your union stretch from sea to sea. You enjoy all the blessing of which we never dreamed. Yet think not that these things only can make a nation great.

We laid the foundations of your happiness in a time of trouble in days of sorrow and perplexity, of doubt, distress, and danger, of cold and hunger, of suffering and want.

We built it up by virtue, by courage, by self-sacrifice, by unfailing patriotism, by unceasing vigilance. By these things alone did we win your liberties; by them only can you hope to keep them.

Do you revere our names? Then follow our example. Are you proud of our achievements? Then try to imitate them. Do you honor our memories? Then do as we have done.

You yourselves owe something to America, better than all those things which you spread before her with such lavish hand—something which she needs as much as her prosperity today, as ever in the sharpest crisis of her fate!

For you have duties to perform as well as we. It was ours to create; it is yours to preserve. It was ours to organize; it is yours to purify!

And what nobler spectacle can you present to mankind today, that that of a people honest, steadfast and secure—mindful of the lessons of experience—true to the teachings of history—led by the loftiest examples and bound together to protect their institutions, as their fathers were to win them at the beginning.

By the ties of virtue, honor and love of country. By that virtue which makes perfect the happiness of a people by that honor which constitutes the chief greatness of a state. By that patriotism, which survives all things, braves all things, endures all things, and achieves all things. And which, though it find refuge nowhere else, should live in the heart of every true American.
————————————————–

If the occupiers truly want a Valley Forge moment, they can begin by contemplating the conditions experienced by the Continental Army, and ask themselves why this motley group of men were committed to enduring the above described hardships. I would ask OWS to consider what it was that propelled those men through the battles to ultimate victory. Perhaps somewhere in a sincere consideration of the history of a true Valley Forge moment they may find that love for country, that passion for freedom that has been left for us—all of us—to keep. And most importantly, perhaps they might give serious thought to how that might best be accomplished.

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

Back to The Blaze »

Comments (16)

Sage.Radachowsky
Posted on November 25, 2011 at 10:11pm
Hello. I believe that I may be one of the people about whom an article was written with the title “‘Our Valley Forge Moment’: Engineers Seek to Keep Occupy Protesters Warm”.

I did not write the title, but I understand the sense of the word.

I do NOT claim that anything Occupiers are going through is similar to Valley Forge, in the sense of hardship.

But … to call all Occupiers miscreants or ruffians and characterize us as ideal-less wimps or otherwise sad excuse for humanity, is a rude polemic. Sure, there are those who think it is “Occu-Stock” and use the movement as a recreational stage. But that is not the majority, and is certainly not the core group.

I stay at Occupy Boston. There is a great resolve among many to prove our endurance and force of will. It is not a death march, but it is not convenient to sleep out of doors for a whole Winter in a windy frigid place, under a form of siege.

There is some bravery involved, and there is a force of will.

You people who call us “cretins” and “miscreants” are a pathetic excuse for patriots.

I am there for the cause of American Democracy. Our country is ruled by the interests of the wealthy few, and this has hollowed out our government and our economy, shipping jobs to China, and turning our manufacturing base into a nation of Starbucks servers and toilet cleaners.

Point taken, but on the other hand, get off your high horse and do something for our country and for the world. It is so easy to

Report this comment
M.D.
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 11:43pm
I love the words quoted by Henry brown! great article !

Report this comment
Army22rpr
Posted on November 16, 2011 at 11:16pm
Kudos Rose, your opening touched me greatly and I hope it caused many Americans to consider those ruffians and miscreants known as “occupiers”. Many soldiers had no warm coats, days went by between meals, they were not paid nor did The Continental Congress properly equip those Soldiers. Those Soldiers fought against the British and it’s Crown for over taxation and not being properly represented by their government. It’s a shame that the anarchists and perverts at the occupier sites are protesting against the corporations that are employing people and not against the Congress for over spending and bankrupting our country. All those spineless mayors of those cities being occupied should be voted out. It is time for conservatives of both parties to take back our government from the politically elite!

Report this comment
grayling646
Posted on November 15, 2011 at 10:24pm
And to think I almost passed over this story. Thanks, Rose. Gave me chills.

Report this comment
- Mil Mom
  Posted on November 16, 2011 at 12:27am
  Great points made, Rose! And for those who would so lightly tear down (OR WATCH OTHERS TEAR DOWN,) this nation they suffered so to estblish, I WOULD ASK? ” YOU SAY YOU HATE GREED AND CORRUPTION? How abot THE CORRUPTION WITHIN THE UNIVERSITIES WHO’VE TAKEN YOUR LOAN MONEY THEN NOT PREPARED YOU FOR A JOB? How about THE CORRUPTION AND GREED WHICH WOULD IGNORE THE BLOOD SHED FOR THIS NATION AND TO GIVE TO US THE CONSTITUTIONAL FREEDOMS THAT MILLIONS RISK EVERYTHING EACH YEAR TO LEAVE LESSER COUNTRIES BEHIND AND COME TO AMERICA FOR? How about THE GREED, OF THOSE WHO WOULD USE YOUR YOUTH AND INEXPERIENCE, TO SET THEMSELVES UP TO BE WORLD POWERS? How about the greed within your own selves, that can only see the plight of YOURSELVES and will not look into the business employee’s life whose jobs you are destroying while YOU try to get your own way!”
  Would you did have a “Valley Forge” moment, WHEN YOU MUST ASK YOURSELVES, “IS THIS THING I’M DOING THE BEST THING FOR MYSELF, MY NEIGHBOR, MY COUNTRY, MY CHIDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN?” Remember, generations of soldiers, have given their lives for this country you want to confine to the scrap heap of history! Are the dreams your professors, and political leaders worthy of their deaths? Of the limbs, and healths of the generations who’ve given them for the safety and security of THIS FREE NATION?”
  IF THE ANSWER IS YES TO ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS! COUNTRYMEN, ” WE NEED TO FALL TO OUR KNEES AND BEG FORGIVENESS, FOR….” (cont)
  
  Report this comment
- Mil Mom
  Posted on November 16, 2011 at 12:47am
  We need to ask (cont)
  “We need to fall to our knees and beg forgiveness, of that Divine Providence, Whose hand was on those fighting such impossible odds to give us these freedoms the youth of today hold in such low esteem, AND we need to ask forgiveness,of these very youth, FOR WE HAVE FAILED THEM *AND* OUR FOREFATHERS, FOR NOT RAISING THEM UP WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT IT IS TO SACRIFICE FOR OTHERS, AND WORK TO PUT OTHERS BEFORE OURSELVES, [not in paying taxes for our government to help others, BUT ACTUALLY LETTING THEM GROW UP HELPING US HELP OTHERS,] and …WE NEED TO ASK ALL TO FORGIVE US FOR SIMPLY GOING ABOUT OUR DAILY LIVES, WHILE THE ENEMY WAS WITHIN US, DESTROYING THIS SO COSTLY FREEDOM FROM WITHIN!” May God have mercy and deliver us all before freedom to pray to, and worship Him, and tell others of His great love and mercy are nearly stamped out from the face of the earth. (I say nearly for as long as He as 1 or 2 gathered together in His name, He promises to be there also!)
  (Forgive the misspellings in the 1st paragraph of the last post, when I get passionate about something, my fingers type faster than my brain spells!)
  
  Report this comment
mr molotov cocktail
Posted on November 15, 2011 at 10:19pm
The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that, from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed, it is of infinite moment that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national union to your collective and individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the palladium of your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts
Washington~

Report this comment
Mr.Fitnah
Posted on November 15, 2011 at 8:16pm
What a hater[\sarc]

Report this comment
- ColoradoBoots
  Posted on November 15, 2011 at 9:45pm
  Learn more history at appleseedinfo.org
  
  Report this comment
TroyBray
Posted on November 15, 2011 at 6:47pm
I heard it on the radio while I was at work. Have you ever tried to hide tears on a construction site?

Report this comment
- TheVoice1
  Posted on November 15, 2011 at 8:44pm
  I hear ya man…. This lays it out straight… left wing trolls can’t touch this one man..
  
  We are America!!! Stand Strong!!! Stay Encouraged !! This is truly what America really looks like!!
  
  Report this comment
- roadkillsuperman
  Posted on November 16, 2011 at 3:21pm
  Many times. Most recently, when listening to Quinn and Rose’s 911 tribute.
  
  Report this comment
Twinspeedr
Posted on November 15, 2011 at 6:20pm
You’re damn skippy!!!! These cretins wouldn’t last 15 minutes in those conditions. Buncha’ babies.

Report this comment
- Mil Mom
  Posted on November 16, 2011 at 1:07am
  I was told by an older lady in my church, that my first responsiblity to my children, wasn’t to raise them up to be happy, well adjusted, OR EVEN HEALTHY, but, TO RAISE THEM UP TO BE ABLE TO STAND UP THE PRESSURE OF THE WORLD AROUND THEM, AND TO KNOW HOW TO DO WHAT’S RIGHT WHEN EVERYONE AROUND THEM IS SAYING TO DO WRONG! Sometimes I wonder if I’ve really succeeded, but then I hear how one of my kids has made it through a really tough time. HOW MANY OWS PARENTS HAVE HAD ADVICE LIKE THAT? If they haven’t and any of them are reading this blog brokenhearted, “God is the real giver of 2nd chances! Ask Him, and He’ll help you and often when we think all is lost with our kids, God steps in and shows us HE CAN STILL DO MIRACLES!!!
  
  Report this comment
Restore the Republic
Posted on November 15, 2011 at 6:03pm
The men at valley forge had something real to fight for. The OWS parasites want Marxist policies proven to fail for 100 years… the same policies that lead to 100,000+ democides. (Murders committed by governments against their own people.)

OWS participants are poster children for Lenin’s “useful idiots”

Report this comment
skitrees
Posted on November 15, 2011 at 5:57pm
Wow! Bravo!!!! A speech like this is reminds you of just how great America was/is…but if not taking a shower, sleeping in your own fecal matter, and drowning in your own drug induced vomit is more your “cup of tea” – go ahead on down to one of the OWS locales.

Report this comment

Comments are closed.

It appears that you have Javascript Disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser preferences for a better user experience on TheBlaze. You can not comment without Javascript enabled.

« Back to The Blaze