Today, I am thankful for those who encourage us to fight on.
Everyone has those days when they feel their back is up against the wall. The day’s intense pressures are so unyielding and the never-ending stress seems so insurmountable that it seems easier to just throw in the towel, raise the white flag, and surrender to one’s foes. On these days, more than ever, we need the positive motivation and the cheering endorsement of a friend to help us plow through. In baseball, a desperate team trailing in the last few innings might turn to the ‘rally cap,’ the superstitious wearing of one’s hat inside out, backwards, or some other unusual manner as a ritualistic acknowledgement to the baseball gods that we really could use a hit right about now. Fans vociferously stand by their teams through these moments, screaming at the top of their lungs as they pound their seats and twirl their rally towels.
Yes, in times of desperation, we all need a ‘pick me up.’ On this day (Sept 12) which traditionally follows the painful memory of the horrific September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington DC, we fittingly rise from the ashes to celebrate National Day of Encouragement. On this day, we remind ourselves that the uplifting words of a friend, family member, or colleague is often the remedy we need to induce us to continue to fight the good fight.
History reminds us of those stalwarts who had the uncanny ability to lift us up from the depths of despair following a bitter defeat, a long winter, or a devastating tragedy. So, today, as we bring to a close our weeklong commemoration of those Americans who labored to transform this nation into the marvel it is today, I’d like to take a moment to introduce you to America’s first motivational author and speaker, the venerable Thomas Paine. Interestingly, Thomas was not born in the American colonies. Rather, he spent the first 37 years of life between 1737 and 1774 in England. Self-educated, he never amounted to much in England. When he was just 23, he had already faced his share of heartache, witnessing the death of his newly-wedded bride and their unborn child during her first pregnancy. His personal business manufacturing stay ropes also collapsed. So, he turned to a low-paying job as a commissioned officer collecting excise taxes for the British government, until he was fired from his post in 1774. With his life was in despair, his prospects seemed bleak.
Then, Thomas Paine met an American diplomat stationed in England at that time, the esteemed Benjamin Franklin. The great American polymath saw Thomas’ potential as a writer and encouraged him to travel to the American colonies to start his life anew. Arriving in Philadelphia in November 1774, Thomas secured a post editing the Pennsylvania Magazine, where he began writing essays and other treatises in support of the American cause for liberty. As the conflict started to reach unprecedented fervor between England and the American colonies, especially after the battles of Lexington and Concord in the spring of 1775, Thomas began penning a 50-page pamphlet entitled Common Sense. This document issued an emotional plea, mostly in a sermon-like format, to the colonists to rebel against their British overlords. Printed in January 1776, Common Sense sold over a half a million copies to a region comprised of only 2.5 million inhabitants. As Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776, he turned to Thomas’ pamphlet for ideas to support his cause for liberty.
As the American Revolution began in earnest later that year, Thomas would author a series of 16 essays known as the Crisis urging citizens to ‘rise up’ and join the fight. His first essay, issued in December 1776, started out with just 8 simple words, perhaps the most influential sentence ever written by any author on American soil: “These are the times that try men’s souls.” In this and many other fiery accounts, Thomas gave Americans the encouragement and fortitude to presevere in their 8-year conflict against King George III – so much so that General Washington would have Paine’s essays read aloud to the troops on the frontlines and those stationed in camps.
Take for instance the words he wrote in the fourth essay, issued on this day (Sept 12) in 1777, just one day after the bitter loss at the Battle of Brandywine. As the Revolutionary Army prepared for the harsh winter at Valley Forge, Thomas would remind them all with his opening words that freedom does not come easy: “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it.” The essay would go on to encourage the troops to hang their heads high even following an ignominious defeat. In the last paragraph, Thomas turned his attention to the British General and Commander-in-Chief, William Howe:
“You, sir, are only lingering out the period that shall bring with it your defeat. You have yet scarce began upon the war, and the further you enter, the faster will your trouble thicken…We are not moved by the gloomy smile of a worthless king, but by the ardent glow of generous patriotism. We fight not to enslave, but to set a country free, and to make room upon the Earth for honest men to live. In such a case, we are sure we are right, and we leave to you the despairing reflection of being the tool of a miserable tyrant.”
When Thomas Paine eventually died in 1809, his obituary in the New York Citizen tarnished his image as nothing more than a rabble rouser: “He had lived long, did some good and much harm.” Well, The New York Citizen is long dead, but the legacy of the great Thomas Paine lives on. May you find encouragement to persevere today and every day.
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