Waking Up on November 6th

I don’t know if they teach about Washington Irving in grade school anymore, but when I was a kid, I loved reading his stories. Perhaps his most famous short story is The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, which includes such memorable characters as Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman. However, my all-time favorite work by Irving is Rip Van Winkle.

Both The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle were included in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon Gent., a collection of 34 different essays and short stories that was written over a two-year period from 1819 to 1820 and released in seven installments in New York and in two volumes in London.

So much for the background to the story. Now it’s time to let ‘er Rip (pun intended).

Rip Van Winkle, the title character, is a Dutch American with a well-earned reputation for avoiding hard work. One day, in order to avoid his wife’s constant nagging, he takes his dog and goes hunting in the Catskill Mountains near his home. With dusk approaching, Rip hears a man calling his name and offers to help him carry his load, which includes a keg of alcohol. One thing leads to another, and the intoxicated Rip drifts off into a deep sleep. When he awakens from his drunken stupor, he is alarmed to discover that he has slept for 20 years and the whole world has changed. Rip’s wife is dead, and his two children are full-grown, one of whom takes him in. Rip then spends the rest of his inconsequential life regaling anyone who will listen about his two-decades-long nap.

I invite you to substitute your favorite Founding Father into that story in place of Rip Van Winkle. As for me, I choose Patrick Henry, the redheaded rabble rouser from Virginia, but George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson or any other Founder will do just fine.

Now picture them falling into a deep sleep around the year 1790 and waking up 234 years later in 2024. Having slept through the Civil War and two World Wars as well as life-altering inventions from the light bulb and the telephone to planes, trains, and automobiles, what will your favorite Revolutionary War figure think about present-day America? Will his chest swell with pride as he takes in such modern-day marvels as computers, smartphones, and rocket ships… or will he be distraught at how decadent and self-absorbed our society has become?

What would Gen. George Washington, who led the Continental Army to an upset victory over the British, say about the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal ordered and orchestrated by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris? And how do you think Thomas Jefferson – who penned the words “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” – would react to learn that Americans have denied those same inalienable rights to 65 million unborn babies since 1973?

How about James Madison, the Father of the Constitution? Would he be pleased or perturbed to learn that his literary and governmental masterpiece has been so misconstrued as to grant citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants who are born on U.S. soil? And would Benjamin Franklin, a printer by trade, sit still while the press suppresses news stories about Hunter’s laptop while fabricating others about Russian collusion?

Do you really think John Hancock and Paul Revere would have lined up to receive their mandatory Covid shots… or that John and Sam Adams would have worn a facemask for the better part of two years? They faced down smallpox, for crying out loud.

And then there’s Alexander Hamilton, our first Secretary of the Treasury. Hey Alex, what do you think about the United States being $35 trillion in debt? That’s right, Alex, I said trillion with a capital “T”.

My best guess is that all 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence would be apoplectic to see biological men dressed like women serving in our military, competing in female sports, and using ladies’ locker rooms. Have we flipped our powdered wigs or what?

Now imagine them waking up on November 6th, the day after the general election. Will they find that 80 million Americans voted to become a socialist country where citizens willingly or unwillingly fork over large portions of their income to a centralized federal government? Will they likewise discover that the right to keep and bear arms is no longer considered a basic and indispensable constitutional right?

My friends, let’s not disappoint these men who pledged “their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor” so that future generations of Americans could live free. They deserve better… and so do the millions of U.S. servicemen and women who fought and died to keep us that way.

Hold your nose if you must, but please cast your ballot on November 5th for the candidate who loves America the most, not the one who is a disciple of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, and Saul Alinsky… to name a few.