I Don't Know, I Didn't Cross the Delaware

Last weekend, the United States of America turned 250 years old. It’s amazing, and also surprisingly short for the magnitude and greatness our country has evolved into. We have transformed from several small colonies across the Atlantic Ocean to the world’s greatest superpower in only a few centuries. But what is it about our country that is most worth celebrating?

My favorite event in American history (and perhaps all of world history) is the famous Crossing of the Delaware by George Washington and his troops in the Revolutionary War. The painting for this event is something you’ve likely seen many times and was the cover of this blog post in the email. While it wasn’t so picturesque in the moment, it helps to identify the power of what happened. Approximately 2,400 men joined General Washington on Christmas night in 1776 to cross the icy Delaware River and launch a surprise attack on British troops in New Jersey. The conditions were almost unbearable: below-freezing temperatures, minimal clothing and shoes, and the physical weight of transporting cannons by boat, all in the dead of night. Yet these men followed Washington in what they knew was a fork-in-the-road moment in the war. If they didn’t gain an advantage now, the war was likely heading toward a British victory and their empire regaining control of the newly declared independent Americans.

These men survived the night, and managed to defeat the troops at two battles after their Christmas night travels, once at Trenton and then again at Princeton. They showed incredible fortitude, and Washington’s resolve as a leader further established their confidence. This event is seen as a turning point in the war, for if they had not won, many Revolutionary soldiers would have likely given up the cause, and the British troops would have easily conquered the far inferior American soldiers. But they took a gamble and their courage paid off. Today, we have men like those 2,400 who crossed the Delaware River to be thankful for.

As weird as it sounds, I think about this event a lot. One of the reasons why is that I often hear complaints lodged against our country, with negativity circling every conversation about politics, our history, or our system. There is certainly room for criticism, and the founding fathers would agree with that, but what gets lost is the gratitude for our country. The sacrifice that the men in the Revolutionary War demonstrated is enough to make us pause and reflect. It makes me think before I criticize, “I don’t know, I didn’t cross the Delaware.” Why sit and complain when I could look back and be grateful?

Our country was founded on the principles of independence, liberty, sacrifice, and resilience. The best thing we can do to honor that is to demonstrate those qualities ourselves, continuing to reflect on our heroes along the way. History teaches us that we have a lot of sacrifices to be thankful for, and it makes being an American all the more special. Events like the Crossing of the Delaware ignite a patriotic passion inside of me, and I hope it does for you too. There is nothing like our country and what we have gone through, so let’s not lose sight of that. Let’s celebrate 250 years of freedom and unify as Americans, side by side.