Molly Pitcher represents one of the best known symbols in American history. I’ll not wade into consideration of whether she was a certain colonial woman (by nickname), or a composite of several. For today, it’s enough for me to consider her example of courage under fire, and her willingness to take a stand after men nearby were injured.
I thought of her example yesterday. The picture that I’ve embedded above is one of myriad representations of her, fighting alongside American patriots against English tyranny.
She might have stayed away, run away, or taken a secondary position, far behind American lines. She did none of that — she stood her ground, putting herself at risk to reduce the risk to others. At the very least, she shared in their dangers.
It seems both right and sensible that Americans would respect a symbol of a courageous woman; we are not a people of faint hearts and quivering lips. For the disadvantaged and disabled we have every reason to be charitable and considerate; for those of conventional circumstances and abilities, we should — and do — expect strength, determination, and a robust defense of principle.
We expect this of both men and women; unlike softer, timid peoples, Americans don’t often favor women who are demure.
There is no woman more admirable than one who, when confronted with a challenge to principle, forms her slender fingers into a fist.
We are fortunate to live in an age of technological skill, but unfortunate that the men and women of our time often want for Pitcher’s zeal and courage. We’re a place of cossetted bureaucrats, from the federal government on down.
Our politics is distorted because it’s opportunistic and unprincipled, a man going from view to view, grand project to grand project, gauging the effect of his words and actions among a small collection of narrow, tired, dissipated insiders?
A manager, pondering the direction of the wind, does a struggling town no good. Grandstanding at easy moments is no worthy position at all.
Someone recently said to me that the municipal embrace of one idea or another is simply harmless celebration for every idea that comes along. I surely don’t believe that this city celebrates everything. Yet, where one does celebrate everything, one celebrates nothing meaningfully.
The City of Whitewater will not get better, she will not be well, until she discards opportunistic posturing for firm principle. I am sure Molly Pitcher would agree.