Does Warsaw Weep?

Please bear with me as I take you on trip that, for me, seemed like yesterday and only lasted twenty-five minutes but brings our Nation full circle back to its founding.

There is a bridge connecting two counties - two burroughs - of New York City, it is part of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. It was built in the 1930's and is scheduled to be replaced within the next few years. I haven't been on this bridge in decades. We used to travel to see relatives in Brooklyn when I was a kid (my parents are both from Brooklyn) and would drive over this bridge to get there.

It is the Kosciuszko Bridge. It is named for General Thaddeus Kosciuszko (1746 - 1817), an eighteenth century Hero on two Continents.

Thaddeus Kosciuszko was born in Poland on February 4, 1746, son of Ludwik and Tekla Kosciuszko. He attended school in Lubieszow and then the Cadet Academy in Warsaw before continuing his engineering studies in Paris, France. By the time Kosciuszko arrived in America from Poland in 1776, he was a skilled engineer who came to offer his services to the American colonies in their struggle for independence.

On October 18, 1776 Kosciuszko was commissioned as Colonel of Engineers by the Continental Congress and began his outstanding service of fortifying battle sites, many of which became turning points in America's fight for independence against the British.

Shortly after arriving in Philadelphia in 1776, Kosciuszko read the Declaration of Independence and was moved to tears because he discovered in this single, concise document everything in which he truly believed. When he discovered that Thomas Jefferson was responsible for drafting the Declaration, he felt compelled to meet him. A few months later, while moving south with the Continental Army, Kosciuszko stopped in Virginia to meet with Jefferson. After a very warm reception, the two men spent the day comparing philosophies and eventually became the best of friends.

In the early days of the war, Kosciuszko helped to fortify the Philadelphia waterfront at Fort Mercer. Shortly after, he was transferred to New York, where he helped with fortifications along the Hudson and planned the defense for Saratoga. The Battle of Saratoga became known as one of military history's most famous struggles for independence and proved to be a turning point in the war.

In 1778, Kosciuszko was made chief engineer of West Point, New York. This fortification became known as the American Gibraltar because it was unable to be penetrated by the British Army. Eventually West Point became a military academy, as suggested by Kosciuszko to General George Washington.

In 1783, Kosciuszko was appointed Brigadier General and was awarded the Cincinnati Order Medal by General George Washington, Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. Washington also presented Kosciuszko with two pistols and a sword as gifts for his outstanding service to America.

After the colonies won their independence, Kosciuszko returned to Poland in 1784 to help his own country win independence from the surrounding European powers. Kosciuszko was wounded in the failed revolt and taken prisoner by the Russians.

Upon his release from prison, he returned to America on August 18, 1797, which he considered his "second home." He received a hero's welcome when he reached the Philadelphia waterfront along the Delaware River. Afterward, he secured a residence at 3rd and Pine Streets, which is now the Kosciuszko House, a national memorial to this hero of the American Revolution.

There is something about liberty that ignites a flame in men's souls. It compelled Kosciuszko to cross a continent and an ocean to join ranks with strangers; but he felt a common bond with men who gave everything they had for liberty.

The quest for liberty is unlike other causes which draw bloody-minded opportunists or hate-filled fanatics. Liberty draws those who love freedom and the chance it affords to those who want to live by the dictates of their conscience, unfettered by intrusive, over-zealous government and the greedy fools who profit from it. This is the way God intended us to live if we would but allow Him to direct our conscience. This is why men have been drawn to our shores for centuries.

But as a Nation, we have abandoned that ideal.

Yet another Polish Patriot who loves America as well as his own land has spoken. As a Friend of America, as an incredibly brave man who stood up to the power and might of the Soviet Union, as a lover of freedom, the words of Lech Walesa should resonate with everyone who loves liberty.

These are hard words to hear from a good friend for Lech tells us:

American is no longer the political and moral leader of the world.

America is becoming socialist

We have now entered the ranks of the grasping, gasping herd of nations, you know .... the countries we used to make fun of. The countries we would read about in the morning paper over coffee and tsk tsk all the way to work, glad and proud that we weren't "like that." Guess again. We're like England after the end of WWI.

The media has ignored this message, we're not surprised. It is because we are turning into a socialist, atheistic country that we are no longer leaders. Leaders need values. Leaders need to be able to provide direction, make decisions based on those values. And leaders need courage to make hard decisions. Attack the values and everything else falls apart.

Lech was in Chicago to support Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate, Adam Andrzejewski.

I wonder if Lech and other Poles weep for us.