The battle to preserve our natural rights of life, liberty, and property is as arduous today as it was 245 years ago, when George Washington and his men made a daring defense. Though we don’t fight our would-be rulers with muskets and bayonets today, we remain in a war to defend our constitutional rights from those who continue to challenge them.
Our weapons today are different but our commitment to win must be no less earnest. Our founders understood the high purpose and necessity of such a defense. They knew the opportunity of a constitutional republic was won by their generation but that it would also require an ever-vigilant citizenry to defend it from well-meaning but power-seeking governments, generation after generation.
As active and engaged citizens, we have a duty to preserve the blessings of liberty for all Americans. Whether a lawyer representing an entrepreneur who is prevented from starting a business by unnecessary and burdensome regulations, a policy advocate working with members of the legislature to push for limited government, a community activist working to ensure equality under the law, or an ordinary citizen writing an Op-Ed for the local newspaper, we’re all defending our shared blessings of liberty.
These blessings were not granted to us by government; they are natural to each of us as individuals. And none of us can be denied these blessings or given any modifier that makes our blessings preferable or subordinate to any others’.
As we celebrate the eternal blessings of the Christmas Season with family and friends, let’s take the time to think about that incredible crossing on Christmas night, 1776. When the hopes of independence lay in the balance, our country’s first president planned and executed the bold attack on the British.
George Washington led famished, cold, tired men across the Delaware in the darkness as rain turned to sleet and then to snow, and the winds blew without relief. The American colonists prevailed in that fight at Trenton and eventually, thanks to a spirit that would not be subdued, our independence was won.
With that enduring spirit in mind this Christmas season, we should take the time to recognize how rich our blessings are and how worthy of a robust defense is liberty.
Jon L. Pritchett (@tobaccoroadguy) is CEO of BOA Nutrition, a sports nutrition and wellness company. He is a writer, entrepreneur, inventor, and organizational leader. Pritchett has been a public policy think tank leader, investment banker, and business executive over a 32-year career in private business. He lives in Bermuda Run, North Carolina with his wife and family.