A Little History Lesson in Celebration of Patriots' Day - April 19, 2021
Patriot’s Day has a real history to it. Cancel Culture can change a lot, but it can’t change that.
Paul Revere’s famous ride on the 18th of April, 1775 is forever enshrined in Longfellow’s poem:
Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the 18th of April in ’75,
Hardly a man is not alive,
who remembers that famous day and year.
The next day would bring the battles of Lexington and Concord, the first military engagements of the Revolutionary War.
In 1894, the Lexington Historical Society petitioned the Massachusetts State Legislature to proclaim April 19thas “Lexington Day.” Concord countered that petition with the request to call it “Concord Day.” See, back then, people were competing to stand with patriots, not running from patriotism. The governor at the time, Frederic T. Greenhalge, decided a good compromise would be to call it Patriots’ Day.
What were we fighting for? Yes, WE Americans. We were fighting for the right to self-determination—as a nation and, ultimately, as codified in the Constitution and Bill of Rights, as individuals.
Never forget the pain that those who fought in the Revolutionary War endured for you and I to enjoy the power and freedom we do. But never think for a moment that the battle is won, for all time, or that we may not have to fight, again and again.
This Patriots' Day, I hope you’ll consider donating to a charity I co-founded that aims to reduce the emotional toll shouldered by America’s veterans. Please visit www.help22.org and donate now.
-Dr. Keith Ablow
