[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2520-2521]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   PERSEVERE AND TRIUMPH OVER OUR FOE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, 271 years ago, American patriot and 
champion of human liberty, Thomas Paine, was born. His pamphlet 
``Common Sense'' is credited with convincing the people of what was 
then the 13 colonies to declare themselves independent and committed to 
representative government and human liberty.
  Paine was thus instrumental in bringing about the American 
Revolution. During that historic life and death struggle with Great 
Britain, which then was the world's mightiest empire, Paine was called 
upon by George Washington. At a moment when the tide seemed to be 
against us, General Washington implored Paine to write something that 
would bolster the spirits of those Americans supporting the patriots' 
cause.
  Yes, there were naysayers and defeatists in those days too, as well 
as people who were demoralized by the ongoing conflict that was going 
badly. Yet, had those before us lost faith and given up, the cause of 
liberty and independence would have been lost. Thomas Paine, at this 
dark moment of despair, wrote ``The American Crisis.'' It was read 
aloud to every soldier in Washington's Continental Army, some listening 
while standing in the snow, freezing, ill equipped and hungry. Yet, 
they did not give up. They did not give into pessimism. It made all the 
difference for them and for us.
  Every generation of Americans has to bear the weight of 
responsibility that comes with a commitment made to human liberty by 
our forefathers and -mothers 200 years ago. When freedom was in the 
balance and darkness of defeat loomed, Americans persevered and carried 
the day in the battle against tyranny and injustice, sometimes at 
horrendous cost, as in our Civil War when we rid America of the sin of 
slavery. Yes, at times, it looked as if the Union was lost.
  Lincoln had the thankless job of leading this country and keeping it 
unified, he, and the Union soldiers, steadfast and strong. How our 
world would be different, our country would be different today had they 
quit and gone home.
  In the 20th century, Americans stepped forward to save the world from 
the evil onslaught of Japanese militarism and Nazism and then 
communism. There were always low points when pessimism could have taken 
hold; and had America retreated, it would be a far more sinister world.
  So, too, with the current preeminent threat to our security and 
freedom and the world's, radical Islam has declared war on our way of 
life. It is an enemy

[[Page 2521]]

to the liberty those Americans before us so cherished and sacrificed to 
protect. We are now at a moment when the people of our country are 
weary of this conflict, especially as it plays itself out in far-off 
Iraq, where deadly explosions take the lives of Americans, young 
Americans, as well as Iraqis.
  Let us not fool ourselves. The future of freedom and America's role 
in the world is in the balance. The future will be determined by what 
we do. Yes, there is reason for despair. The casualty lists include 
names of young people from Orange County, my Orange County, heroes such 
as young Marine Lance Corporal Marcus Glimpse of Huntington Beach, 
whose funeral I attended last April. Also, there is Corporal Angel Jose 
Garibay of Costa Mesa, and just this past weekend, the funeral of a 23-
year-old second lieutenant from Irvine, Mark J. Daily. They now have 
joined a very selected band of brothers in heaven who gave their lives 
for America and for the cause of human freedom. Yes, we are proud, but 
also we feel a profound sadness at their loss.
  Perhaps as we decide now, in this moment, when the bloodshed seems so 
futile, we should remember an earlier time of crisis, when the future 
seemed bleak, but our own resolve carried the day and the cause with it 
of human liberty.
  I will read the following excerpt from Thomas Paine's ``The American 
Crisis,'' when he said: ``These are the times that try men's souls. The 
summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink 
from the service of their country; but he who stands by it now, 
deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is 
not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the 
harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too 
cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything 
its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and 
it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should 
not be highly rated.''
  I ask my colleagues and the American people to think about these 
words and to stand firm for the cause of liberty for which our Founding 
Fathers have sacrificed so much
  We Americans, made up of every race, religion, and ethnic group have 
a special role to play in this world. We are the hope and light of all 
those who would live in freedom and long for justice. So as we face the 
crisis of our generation, perhaps we should again visit the words of 
Thomas Paine who inspired those who came before us to persevere and 
triumph over a formative foe.

                          ____________________