On July 28, 1864, Union forces led by William Tecumseh Sherman were locked in battle against confederate forces holed up in Atlanta. It was the beginning of the end of the American Civil War; Shermans army had laid waste to the confederate countryside, and Atlanta was one of the last remaining southern strongholds. Two confederate brothers from the 19th Louisiana infantry, Josiah and George, fought side by side on that day at the Battle of Ezra Church. Both were shot on July 28th. George was killed. Josiah was shot through the jaw, just inches from his vitals. He survived. Both brothers had childhood sweethearts back home in Bossier City. They each had plans to get married and maybe even go into the farming business together. Josiah was able to realize that dream. He went on to have five children who continued his line through today. I would know-- Josiah was my great, great grandfather. Ive spent the past 15 years researching my family history; Ive managed to document my ancestry going back eight centuries to 1250 AD. And its more than just names and dates. For many, I know their stories. Josiahs is one that is particularly meaningful to me. His brother George didnt live long enough to see his dream realized. George never married his childhood sweetheart and never had the chance to have a family. And were it not but for just a few precious inches, Josiah wouldnt have had the chance either. Had so much as a small gust of wind blown when the round was in-flight, Josiah would have been mortally wounded. And I wouldnt exist. It makes me think of all the people who were never born because their would-be ancestors were struck down by violence, chaos, and war. Those wars are often entirely pointless, just as it was a century ago. World War I was brought on by bloodthirsty leaders who were eager to throw a violent temper tantrum to acquire more territory. The men in the ranks saw no point in it. And on Christmas Eve 1914, exactly 100 years ago today, soldiers on both sides climbed out of their trenches to exchange cigars, candy, brandy, and even play a friendly football match. These were men who had no quarrel with one another, who would have otherwise been happy to buy a round of drinks at the nearest pub as Thomas Hardy describes in his poem The Man He Killed: Had he and I but met / By some old ancient inn, We should have sat us down to wet / Right many a nipperkin! But ranged as infantry, / And staring face to face, / I shot at him as he at me, / And killed him in his place. Yet rather than settle differences peacefully... or let these overgrown children masquerading as national leaders duke it out themselves, millions of people were sent to their deaths. And millions more were never born as a result. This is the direct product of pitiful leadership. We trust in our leaders to maintain the peace. To preserve the purchasing power of our savings. To secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. Yet instead, they achieve record levels of debt, thrusting obligations upon unborn generations so that they can wage wars, drop bombs, buy drones, and spy on their citizens. And they just expect us to take it. Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori is a lie. We arent born with obligations to some politician who expects us to sacrifice for the greater good (as defined in his sole discretion). Our obligation is to family first. Its to the small circle of people that we grip hands with to stare down an uncertain future. Family is the most important thing there is, and its why we all do what we do. If you plant a tomato seed in the ground, it grows and matures, eventually producing dozens of tomatoes itself. Each one of those tomatoes has dozens of seeds inside... the idea being that hopefully at least one of those dozens of seeds inside dozens of tomatoes will make it into the dirt, germinate, and continue the line again. Family is the most natural thing in the universe. And its literally why (and how) were all here. As were closing out the end of the year, I wanted to take some time to talk about this in todays podcast... probably the most gut-wrenching Ive done so far. There are a lot of surprises in this one, so I definitely encourage you to listen. In many ways, this community of ours, the readers and members at Sovereign Man, has become somewhat of an extended family for me. And it has been my utmost privilege to join you and write this letter for the past 5+ years. With that, Id like to wish you the happiest of holidays and a most prosperous and healthy 2015. Yours, always in freedom, Simon Black
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 01:48:43 +0000
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