Remembering Elizabeth

 I watched Elizabeth II give an address one afternoon about dealing with the scourge of Covid, that threatened her nation. She was trying to stiffen the resolve of both Britain and her common wealth allies. This remarkable woman had advised the British Government for seventy years. She had seen the Battle of Britain rain down death and destruction on London. She had witnessed a dozen calamities and struggles. Yet, still she stood tall and resolute. It was enough of a portrait in courage to strengthen the resolve of millions of her fellow British and their allies. If the Queen said things would work out, that is enough for them. They would soldier on along with her, singing “Rule Britannia.”

        Whenever people talk about threats to a population, they have to remember to whom they are speaking. Most of our countrymen here in America, like their British cousins, have lived through a dozen such panics, both financial and medical. They have raised families and succeeded in careers where only the strong survive.

         These kind and gentle people might not look like warriors, but they are. They are the average man and woman who toughed it out during job crises, pregnancy, family emergencies and a dozen other difficulties that would have downed the toughest of us. They did so with aplomb and dignity, grateful for the country that they lived in and the opportunities that were afforded they and their children.

         Do you think you are going to frighten people like this with vague warnings about a plague? Not a chance. They will stiffen their spines, take what precautions are recommended and come out on the other side of the panic with heads held high. They might be bloodied, they might suffer family and personal loss, but they will survive as generations of their ancestors had done during the difficult times they had faced.

       We might not look like scrappers, but both Brits and Americans, we are. Immigrant stock had come here with nothing and carved out a life for themselves and their families. No one gave then anything, no one made it easy, they just gritted their teeth and made it through the hard times. And we are the beneficiaries of this pluck, God bless them every one.

      So, look to who you are first, before commenting on the hard times around you. You are the end product of a long line of special people who never gave up, who never quit until they had a chance to come to this wonderful country and carve out a life for their families.

       You can see the pluck in our modern day first responders and medical personnel. None of them cowered in the face of a plague. None shirked their duty. In Pat Buchanan’s words, when they knew of danger, they “saddled up and rode to the sound of the guns” in the best traditions of courageous volunteers. They might not have all been Unites States Marines or British Special Services, but they sure as hell acted like them. Charge forward, take the high ground and hold until relieved! These civilian marines set an example for all of us to follow.

       Take care of your families first. Then, look around you to see who else needs help. We have secured the shores of Tripoli and a dozen other halls of inequity, now let’s conquer the halls of Corona. Onward and upward fellow warriors.  God Bless Elizabeth and all that she did for everyone. 

                                            -30-

                                      (568 words)

                                    Joseph Xavier Martin