On this day, 249 years ago, the Battle of Lexington took place in Massachusetts.
It was a pivotal day, to say the least, and it signaled the start of America’s long and painful journey toward becoming an experiment in liberty — and representing a beacon of hope for the world.
The Spark of a Revolution
In 1775, tensions between the colonists and the British were approaching a tipping point.
Hotbeds like Massachusetts had already formed their own independent governments. Patriots were preparing for the ultimate day of armed conflict with the redcoats as they trained troops to retake their colony.
On April 18, Britain’s Gen. Thomas Gage ordered the redcoats to march against the patriot arsenal at Concord and apprehend leaders like Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who were believed to be hiding at Lexington.
The patriots, who had been long planning for such British military advancement, received word of the order. Paul Revere and William Dawes were ordered to covertly warn that the British were coming, which roused the Minutemen and alerted Adams and Hancock.
On April 19, a group of militiamen confronted the redcoat army at Lexington. Sadly, the patriots were routed within minutes, but war had officially begun, and there would be no going back. This battle led to a call to arms all across the colonial countryside.
When the redcoats reached Concord around 7 a.m., they were surrounded by hundreds of armed patriots, who successfully destroyed their military supplies. Suddenly, a surprise gang of Minutemen arrived and advanced against the British, inflicting many casualties.
Has America made the world a better place?
The commander of the redcoats, Lt. Col. Francis Smith, ordered his men to return to Boston without engaging the patriots further. As they retraced their steps and started the 16-mile journey back to the city, patriot marksmen repeatedly fired at them from behind trees, rocks and walls.
A militia led by Capt. John Parker gained a measure of revenge as the redcoats marched through Lexington. They were successful in killing several.
The return journey ended up being very costly for the British. By its end, nearly 300 had either been killed, wounded or gone missing in action. Despite the early losses, the patriots suffered fewer than 100 casualties.
The battles at Lexington and Concord were the first skirmish in a long and bloody revolution.
The American Dream
As an immigrant to this exceptional nation, I have spent thousands of hours researching and discussing your history. One of my favorite things to ponder is the impact of the Revolutionary War. I often wonder if those who fought against the redcoats could envision the impact they would have on this world.
Even in their wildest and most hopeful dreams, could they have envisioned that what would become the United States of America would make the world a better place for all?
Undoubtedly, there will be those who scoff at that question. But I challenge you to name any segment of society that America has not impacted positively.
Pick any segment — from standard of living to education, technology, agriculture, etc. — and study its advancements from the year 0 to 1800. Now, think about the advancements made in the same segment over the last 200 years. It’s the rough equivalent of a 5,000-year leap.
How can that be the case?
The short answer is the idea of America first found in your extraordinary Declaration of Independence, which lays out the uniquely American principles that:
- All men are free from tyrants.
- You have the freedom of mind, body and soul to innovate and create.
- Moreover, you have the right to property and to keep the fruits of your labor.
Prior to the Declaration of Independence (and in most of the world today), the best anyone could hope for was indentured servitude or a life of relative poverty.
But those three self-evident principles allowed people to work toward a brighter future where success is possible — the American Dream. And that dream is why people like me wait in line for years for the legal opportunity to live their best life.
When Self-Loathing Became Cool
Over the last 50 years or so, it has become cool to hate America. This is at once ironic and infuriating since we live fundamentally better than 99 percent of anyone who has ever existed.
Yet people slip on their expensive Nike sneakers, get on their brand new iPhone — an American innovation that wirelessly connects them to the whole world — and use an American app called Facebook to declare that America sucks. The 2024 version of this sadly even includes shouts of “death to America.”
It is a horrific thought that I try to erase by thinking about what the world would look like had America never existed — long shot as its founding was.
Do you realize how many things had to go right for us to get here? Here’s a shortlist — a frightening alternative history — to consider:
Imagine if the British had not made the mistake of underestimating the colonists as simple peasants and crushed them before the war could ever begin.
Imagine if Thomas Jefferson had been just an average writer and the Declaration of Independence had not inspired a generation to revolt.
Imagine if George Washington had been an indecisive and arrogant leader.
Imagine if Thomas Paine had not written “The American Crisis” and did not inspire people to remain in the years-long fight.
Imagine if Ben Franklin (and, to a lesser extent, John Adams) had offended the French, and they had balked at becoming allies in the war.
Even after the colonists won the Revolution, so many things still had to succeed.
John Adams had to get the Dutch to recognize colonial credit.
James Madison had to write the Constitution.
The Bill of Rights had to be ratified by the states.
Fledgling Americans had to overcome the British again in 1812.
A young nation had to overcome a civil war.
Such lists could continue, but the point is this: America’s creation was a miracle. And I believe — like many before me and many still — that it was a gift of divine providence from God.
The Clarion Call
It would be fair to point out the flaw in my argument — that this is not the America we live in anymore.
I agree, and no one needs to tell me how bad things are right now. While I am not looking for any particular sympathy, I waited in line for 18 years to get here, so it kills me to see what America has become. It kills me to see Americans hurting, struggling, and short on hope.
However, while the flaw in my argument is valid, my response is equally valid. I do not worry about the past or what we are today. I spend my time dreaming and working toward what we may become tomorrow.
I dream of a world where the country I love, the country I am now blessed to call home, is still a beacon of light for the free world — but an even brighter one.
I dream of a world where America is once again the leader in promoting natural law and spreading freedom around the world by example. And I believe the Statue of Liberty is still the perfect symbol for our future.
We are the country she proclaims. We cherish our self-evident principles of liberty, and we proudly hold up our torch for the rest of the world to see, declaring, “You can have these freedoms too.”
The Future Is a Choice
If we are to save America, we must return to our founding principles and start dreaming again.
Dreaming of a brighter future is a uniquely American impulse. Your Founders dreamed of one, and your soldiers, positioned throughout the world, are willing to risk their lives for it. Most Americans are working toward their own little dreams.
This was always the nation that laughed at the so-called impossible. It is the first reason I fell in love with America.
My first visit was when I was 8, to see my great-aunt in Clearwater, Florida. I immediately fell in love with your people and your attitude. I have been blessed to travel to many countries, but I have never witnessed anything quite like American optimism.
In Ireland, where I grew up, saying you would one day become a millionaire or a sports star would likely draw laughs. Those laughing could list a million reasons why it would not happen, including those based on class, education or where you came from.
America was always remarkably different in this regard. Hopefully, there are enough Americans today who still believe that to be an American means anything is possible.
Our Options
To this immigrant, it appears we have two options going forward.
We can believe America is doomed and give up, saying we had a good run. Or we can do what our Founders would demand of us. We can pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and return to the fight.
We must put on our big boy pants and work to rebuild this republic. The obstacles we face today are not special or unique — they are merely this generation’s challenges. And we must and will overcome them.
Allow me to leave you with a question that motivates me daily. It is one Ronald Reagan once asked: If America fails, where do I run next? Where do any of us go?
I beg you to ask yourself the same question as we seek to defeat the tyrants of our day and restore the American heritage of hope and freedom.
