National Chairman's Letter
Christmas Message
December 2003
Dear Independent American friends,
Merry Christmas! and Happy New
Year! to all of you from the State and National Officers, and Executive and
National Committees of the Independent American Party. As we ponder the spirit
of giving at this time of year, I would like to reflect on the gift our
forefathers gave us as instruments in our Lord's hands. May I write in present
tense of several incidents during the American Revolution (from a recent speech
of mine):
Early in the British-American hostilities, Ethan Allan and his
Green Mountain Boys surround Fort Ticonderoga, a British outpost in upper New
York. He bangs on the door of the fort commander and demands he turn over the
fort. The fort commander, in his night clothes, scowls back, "By what
authority do you command me to turn over the fort?" Allan raises his hand
and commands, "In the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental
Congress!" That is good enough for the British commander, and he gives up
the fort.
56 gallant men, raised up by God, sign a very radical document
that declares: "all men are created equal" ... "with certain
unalienable rights" such as "life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness"; that governments derive "their just powers from the
consent of the governed"; and that "these United Colonies ... are free
and independent states."
The Liberty Bell is rung a hundred times, resounding the words
from Leviticus (25:10): "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all
the inhabitants thereof." The document gives birth, July 4th, to a new
nation.
With the Declaration, the Revolution is enflamed; but should
be crushed militarily within a few months. The colonists are greatly
outnumbered, poorly armed, and lacking in food and clothing, many barefoot and
ragged. They fight the British on one front and American indifference on the
other; lose most their battles; and suffer unimaginable hardships and
discouragement.
But there are patriots and heroes: Nathan Hale, a 21-year-old
school teacher, caught spying by the British; denied a trial, a clergyman and a
Bible; with a noose around his neck, his last words: "I only regret that I
have but one life to lose for my country."
John Paul Jones, on his disabled Bonhomme Richard, refuses to
surrender, and shouts, "I have not yet begun to fight!" His men lash
their sinking ship to the British Serapis, then board and conquer the British
ship.
9000 Americans will die in or from the war, including
one-fourth of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Issac Potts, a 26-year-old Quaker, opposed to the war and
resentful at the occupation by American forces at Valley Forge; riding near a
thick woods, hears the distant sound of a fervid voice. He ties his horse to a
sapling, and walks quietly into the woods towards the voice. He is astonished to
find George Washington on his knees alone, with his sword on one side and his
cocked hat on the other, interceding for his beloved country.
In Potts’ words: "With tones of gratitude that labored
for adequate expression, he adored that exuberant goodness which, from the depth
of obscurity, had exalted him to the head of a great nation, and that nation
fighting at fearful odds for all the world holds dear. He utterly disclaimed all
ability of his own for this arduous conflict; he wept at the thought of that
irretrievable ruin which his mistakes might bring on his country, and with the
patriot’s pathos spreading the interests of unborn millions before the eye of
Eternal Mercy, he implored the aid of that arm which guides the starry
host."
Soon as the General had finished his devotions and had
retired, Potts returned to his house and threw himself into a chair by the side
of his wife. "Hegh! Isaac," said she, "thee seems agitated; what’s
the matter?"
"Indeed, my dear," quoth he, "if I appear
agitated it is no more than what I am. I have seen this day what I shall never
forget. Till now I have thought that a Christian and a soldier were characters
incompatible; but if George Washington be not a man of God, I am mistaken, and
still more shall I be disappointed if God do not through him perform some great
thing for this country.’"
And there are miracles: George Washington never gives up. He
falls often to his knees and thanks God for His constant and Providential care.
He is inspired to conceive a surprise Christmas night attack across the icy
Delaware.
British reinforcements are delayed three months at a critical
point in the war by adverse ocean winds. God balances the interests of nations,
and produces an irresistible motive for France to ally with the United States.
The treachery of Benedict Arnold is miraculously discovered at the last minute.
In the final battle at Yorktown: the British attempt to escape
across the York River, to fight another day. But their boats are blown back by a
sudden virtual hurricane. Cornwallis exclaims, "It looks like even God is
on Washington’s side." The Americans are victorious as a free and
sovereign nation.
May we be grateful to our forefathers who gave their all at
Valley Forge and throughout that war, that we (the unborn millions) would
someday have freedom. And may we revere our God and Savior who prepared and
raised them up that we today can have a free and Merry Christmas.
For God, Family and Country!
Bruce Bangerter
IAP National Chairman
