Finneran: Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death
Friday, July 12, 2019
While you’re at it, curse the corporate cowards of America, who in mad pursuit of their C-suite bonuses, make themselves the immoral lackeys of murderers and tyrants.
Thousands, nay millions, of Hong Kong citizens have been filling the streets and parks of Hong Kong in admirable resistance to yet another thug-like attempt to stifle their already limited and very much endangered liberties.
Young Americans, so poorly and so negatively taught about our own nation’s struggle for freedom, will likely fail to see the parallels at work today on the other side of the world. Let that not be the case for the young people of Massachusetts, home to Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill, and Dorchester Heights.
Amidst those yearning crowds on the streets of Hong Kong are today’s versions of Patrick Henry, John Adams, and Sam Adams, each of whom brought intelligence, oratory, and bravery to such improbable heights as to stimulate a revolution against a global tyrant. These men were patriots.
And those patriots likely stir in their resting place, as they see their Asian sons and daughters of liberty persist in their resistance to tyranny.
Yes, the odds are long. Yes, the risks of impoverishment, imprisonment, and death are real. Hong Kong’s young patriots do not have a vast ocean impeding the approach of cruel armies. Nor do they have active allies or even active voices raised on their behalf. Might the chattering classes of the EU offer an encouraging word on their behalf? Might Presidents Trump and Obama, so quick to offer opinions on a multitude of subjects, raise their voices against tyrants and in defense of basic freedoms? Might the barons of Silicon Valley and Hollywood cease their genuflections to dollars and drivel and finally speak to decency?
Such thoughts came to me last week as we celebrated America’s birthday. These are the thoughts that agitate and stir men’s minds, thoughts that frighten Xi Jinping and the world’s bullies, dream-like thoughts of independence and freedom. And I thought of Patrick Henry’s great speech “Give me liberty……”.
I concede that America is not a perfect nation. Such is the condition of man, at all times and in all places, always falling short of perfection. But America is a great nation, a nation which still inspires brave people all over the world. And were there any men braver and bolder than Patrick Henry?
For a summer treat, take a moment to read his stinging indictment of Great Britain and his admirable reference to the citizens of Boston shaking off their chains. Give me liberty indeed. Go here: PatrickHenryGiveMeLibertyAddress
Best wishes to Hong Kong and a belated Happy Birthday to America. Long may you lead.
Tom Finneran is the former Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, served as the head the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, and was a longstanding radio voice in Boston radio
Related Articles
- Finneran: Sports Shorts
- Finneran: Cue the Parade
- Finneran: Wary? Weary? Both!
- Finneran: Truisms
- Finneran: A Good War & a Foul Deed
- Finneran: Spring Winks
- Finneran: The Grouch
- Finneran: A Thorough Whipping
- Finneran: King’s Dream, 2019
- Finneran: Super Bowl 53
- Finneran: SOTU, Super Bowl, Etc.
- Finneran: Nonnie’s Lament
- Finneran: Love at Terminal E
- Finneran: Confounding America’s Critics
- Finneran: About That Mammogram
- Finneran: When Men Were Men, Today Social Slobs
- Finneran: The Joys of June
- Finneran: Coach
- Finneran: Memorial Day, 2019
- Finneran: In Appreciation
Follow us on Pinterest Google + Facebook Twitter See It Read It