Brooke's comments are especially meaningful in light of recent debates and battles we are having in Texas, in Washington, D.C., and in many states around the country.
[Excerpted from prepared remarks by Texas Public Policy Foundation President Brooke Rollins, delivered at the Right on Crime Opening Dinner at the State Policy Network Annual Meeting, September 24, 2013.]
...In Texas, in just a few short days, we are coming up on an important anniversary. October 2nd marks 177 years since the Battle of Gonzales that started the Texas Revolution. Some of you may not know the background to that battle, but let me share it with you...
The Mexicans were growing fearful that the Texas settlers were becoming too independent-minded and perhaps a little too ready to defend their liberties. The small town of Gonzales had a cannon, used to defend from Indian attacks, and in October of 1835, local Mexican army forces demanded that the cannon be handed over. The intent was to disarm the Texans and deter them from asserting their God-given right to freedom.
The message that the people of Gonzales sent back is inscribed on the heart of every true Texan and resounds down in history to this day:
Come and take it.
And with that message, the fight was inevitable and the Texas Revolution began. My friends, the Texans chose to fight, despite having no army, despite having no government, and despite having no hope of aid from any corner. Every rational calculation should have told them to submit, but as Winston Churchill said, just over a century later, "the destiny of man is not decided by material calculation." The Texans fought not because the odds were in their favor, but because they savored freedom.
And that has made all the difference.
...Thank you for being the beacons of liberty in every one of your states, and may God bless our great nation.
Follow me on Twitter at @rumpfshaker
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