His description of his generation's supporters of the enemy (the Tories), who give heart to the enemy but who would never join him in battle; and his description of those who still support freedom is instructive today:
And what is a Tory? Good GOD! what is he? I should not be afraid to go with a hundred Whigs against a thousand Tories, were they to attempt to get into arms. Every Tory is a coward, for a servile, slavish, self-interested fear is the foundation of Toryism; and a man under such influence, though he may be cruel, never can be brave.
But before the line of irrecoverable separation be drawn between us, let us reason the matter together: Your conduct is an invitation to the enemy, yet not one in a thousand of you has heart enough to join him.
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Quitting this class of men [i.e., Tories], I turn with the warm ardour of a friend to those who have nobly stood yet determined to stand the matter out; I call not upon a few, but upon all; not on THIS state or THAT truth but on EVERY state; up and help us; lay your shoulders to the wheel; better have too much force than too little, when so great an object is at stake. Let it be told to the future world, that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, come forth to meet and to repulse it. Say not, that thousands are gone, turn out your tens of thousands; throw not the bur hen of the day upon Providence, but "Shew your faith by your works," that God may bless you. It matters not where you live, or what rank of life you hold, the evil or the blessing will reach you all. The far and the near, the home counties and the back, the rich and the poor, shall suffer or rejoice alike.
This should not be a Red State war. We all prosper or fail as one. And I do fear that the split in our country is deepening to be an irrevocable long-lasting feature of our political culture. The calls to withdraw from Iraq even as we are winning is shameful. It betrays our national interests and the troops who fight and risk their lives for a nation that by its actions is not sure it values their determination to win and their willingness to die trying.
It also saddens me that words written when real Patriots struggled in the face of defeat after defeat against a superpower, are necessary to bolster Americans today even as we, a superpower, win our war against a barbarian enemy.
Is it really possible that we should experience a winter of discontent in the middle of summer as we show that we are indeed conquering hell?
Exit strategies are for losers. Victory is what a confident people who are sure that their civilization is just and who are confident that their soldiers will achieve call for even in difficult times.
