It is said that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” however that quote is often used in reference to the terrible things of history. I believe we have to remember the good and honorable events of our past as well because these are things that we should strive to repeat.
It has been almost 236 years since Paul Revere’s ride from Boston to Lexington. The story of his famous ride has been repeated many times and is rather well known to most. On April 18, 1775 a thousand British soldiers were sent from Boston to march up the road through Lexington and on to Concord, hoping to catch the colonists by surprise and capture Sam Adams, John Hancock and their supplies quietly. Fortunately for the colonists, they learned of the British plan and two riders, seeing the signal of a lantern in the Old North Church, took to their horses and began calling the patriots “To Arms!” Thus we have “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” to recall and recite.
What I recently discovered upon doing a little reading on the subject is that a dedicated coppersmith named Paul Revere was important to history for more than just his famous ride. It seems that while Mr. Revere was not as educated as John Adams, nor had the rhetorical skills of Sam Adams, he had some very valuable talents of his own that were of utmost importance to the success of the patriots’ resistance effort. Revere was very plugged in to the Boston social networks, more than most other men. He was known by virtually all. Besides the Sons of Liberty, there were six other main revolutionary groups. Revere was a member of five of these groups. Only one other man out of the 255 leading men in Boston’s society could claim the same.
It was Paul Revere’s ability to be plugged into the many revolutionary groups and keep them informed that allowed for them to have a vital structure of communication of which he could essentially call upon at a moment’s notice in 1775. His dedicated planning made an effective resistance possible.
Upon consideration of these newly learned facts about Mr. Revere, I find myself comparing his efforts to that of an honorable patriot that I know personally. This modern-day patriot has worked tirelessly over the past couple of years to build a network of communication across the state of North Carolina. He has met with and supported a number of patriot groups and made available to them a website that he funded out of his own pocket. He has spent countless hours driving from one end of the state to the other to allow the group leaders to get to know him personally, to build trust, and to support their efforts, as well as educate the citizens of this state about the dangers our state and our nation are facing due to the progressive movement that is running away with our country.
Recently it became evident to this patriot that stepping aside from his leadership role might be in the best interest of those he was working with. He recognized that the fight couldn’t be about one person or one person’s opinions. It had to be about the common cause, that of restoring our nation to it’s founding principles. That was always his purpose for the work and he wanted to be sure his presence didn’t allow a distraction for those that were looking for fame or power.
This dilemma for my friend has caused me to wonder how Paul Revere might have handled the situation. Can you imagine Mr. Revere starting out on his famous ride that night so long ago, but being stopped by his “steering committee” who wanted to discuss the proper method for communicating such an important message? “Riding through the streets at midnight might offend some of our fellow group leaders. Maybe you should wait until morning so as not to awaken those that have already gone to bed.” Or maybe they would have said to Mr. Revere, “we need to develop the message you are going to take to the colonists. We should meet at the local ale house and compose a proper message, one that won’t frighten or offend anyone. We can’t rush something so important.” Or still yet, it could have been at the end of his ride that this committee called Paul to answer “with what authority do you speak freely without first consulting the members of the committee?” Maybe poor Paul would have been taken to the whipping shed for some enlightenment.
The battle for resistance to the British forces might surely have turned out differently if Paul Revere had faced this type of a situation. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem he did and things turned out well for our country. There is one more thing I learned about Mr. Revere in reading history. It seems that while on his famous ride that night, he fell from his horse and was captured. Fortunately he escaped and was able to carry on the fight. The same goes for my modern-day patriot friend!
Excellent overview