I wonder how long it took the news of Lexington and Concord to reach the rest of the colonies 229 years ago? Surely by April 20 Boston knew what had happened, they had seen the bloodied and exhausted British troops stagger back into the city the evening before. I think John Adams down in Quincy knew it, I believe I recall reading about that. How long before Congress in Philadelphia knew that they were at war?
There are parallels between the War of Independence and our current fight. I’d bet the opinions of the people break down more or less as they did then: a third were for the Revolution, a third against it and a third remained indifferent. The nation wasn’t really ready for war, most didn’t realize we were at war even after the war was already upon us. As I recall, one of Congress’s first acts after the fighting had begun was to draft an apology – the “Olive Branch petition” – to George III. Sound familiar?
Still, then as now, there were those courageous few who stood up for what they knew was right, faced reality and were willing to put their lives on the line for their beliefs. The gamble paid off in 1775, who are we to risk less in 2004?