Christmas Essay

[Kurt Hayes]

No matter what I do to give back this season, it will be a small gesture when compared to the soldiers in Washington's Army in December 1776. I will continue giving back through LymeLITE.org by raising awareness about the public health hazard of Lyme disease in Massachusetts, as well as begin working on a regular basis as a volunteer for the Acton Food Pantry and Acton Community Supper.

As a reminder of what we were all working for one year ago, here's a 'reprint' of a "Letter to the Editor" that was printed in several of my area newspapers in mid-December, 2009.
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“These are the times that try men’s souls”. So began “The American Crisis”, penned by Thomas Paine in the days just before Christmas, 1776. Those were the darkest days of America’s struggle for independence and freedom.
1776 had begun with high hopes as General Washington forced the British
to abandon Boston in the early spring.
Optimism soared as the Declaration of Independence was signed early that
summer. Soon after, the tide turned as
Washington’s young American army fled New York, chased by a superior enemy
force across New Jersey into the cold, bitter winds of the approaching winter.

It was after seeing the desperate conditions of the remnants of Washington’s army that Thomas Paine wrote the words of the “American Crisis” that bound together the sick, shoeless, frozen men, inspiring them to soldier
on and carry out Washington’s surprise Christmas attack on the enemy forces at
Trenton. If not for these brave men who
refused to be ‘summer soldiers’ and ‘sunshine patriots’, the American
Revolution would surely have been lost.
Without a victory and without hope, those few remaining soldiers would
have returned to their homes after fulfilling their commitment to the army at
the end of that year. The miraculous
Christmas victory inspired the support, hope and confidence needed to continue,
and eventually win, the war for Independence.

Across America, many are feeling that we are in the dark days of a new “American Crisis”. They are disturbed by the expansion of government and not only the contraction of
our Liberty, but the trampling of the U.S. Constitution. They worry about the future we’re leaving to
younger generations of Americans.
They’re uncomfortable with the single-minded focus of one party to ram
through their agenda without a national ‘conversation’ or debate. Here in Massachusetts we know too well the
down side to single-party rule. We need
a healthy, robust two-party system to keep balance and to keep our leaders
accountable to us rather than an ideological agenda.

In a small way we have an opportunity, like that of Washington’s army at the end of 1776, to fight a battle that has the potential to inspire others to help get us on the path towards economic recovery and a
brighter future for America by electing Scott Brown as the next U.S. Senator
from Massachusetts.

Do not be a mere ‘summer soldier’ or ‘sunshine patriot’ in this latest “American Crisis”. We do not need to walk bare-foot through the snows, nor risk our lives in military battle
to do our part. We need only to take
time to vote by absentee ballot or at the polls on January 19th.

I urge you to join me in casting a vote for Scott Brown, an Independent voice for Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate, not another rubber-stamp for the agenda of expansive and more powerful government.

Please visit BrownforUSSenate.com or call 781-444-0200 for information on how you can join the “Brown Brigade” to help elect Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate on January 19th.

Kurt Hayes

Boxborough

[Kristi L. Devine]

Dear Kurt:

Sorry I did not read the rest of your essay because I just have to thank you for your work on Lyme Disease and rush to look at that link. I never knew how serious it was until my friend slipped into a coma from it almost three weeks ago. Please pray for him, and thank you for anything you do to alert people to this serious situation. Best Regards.

[Jaye Strait]

Dear Kurt;

Hooray for you! I thought everyone else forgot what we were doing last January and it simularities to the American Patriots and what they stood for in human history. Why it is RIGHT for all people of all time. I would remind only to bolster your point Kurt, It was primarily New Englanders "Yankees" that made up his army "who singed on for the duration because they thought the right thing to do." Those same Yankees at Yorktown. God bless America.

Jaye Strait