This is a writing exercise on the part of Oliver. It’s a speech to those soldiers who intend or are actively fighting in the rank of the rebellion. It was published in the Boston Weekly News Letter in January 1776. It was accredited to one of Oliver’s pseuds, specifically “Z Z.”
This is a fascinating window on the moment now lost to history that also serves as a mirror for those of us with the mental height and consideration capacity to ride the ride. Oliver is incredibly accessible to us; his arguments and reasoning and language all make good sense, regardless of whether or not you agree. Oliver was a bright, successful, and influential man, and he was ill prepared for his world being overturned by a bunch of crass, criminal retards who wanted everything their way and were ready to burn the world if they didn’t get it. That should sound familiar to us in a lot of uncomfortable ways.
But we must also keep in mind that those crass, criminal retards won the day. True, the men who actually did the fighting and winning in Boston were left destitute, ignored by the elites that used them and forgotten by the movement they birthed. And the soldiers, the men who were led, either died, got mangled, or survived to return to the exact same life they had previously. There was no material change between the English colonists in the Americas and the Americans that spoke the King’s English; before they drank tea, indulged in tobacco, and avoided work, and after they drank tea, indulged in tobacco, and avoided work.
The material benefits of the war were enjoyed by a subset of the elites who got the timing of their treachery just right in conjunction with the proper network of friends. This relatively small crowd of men were both foundation and building blocks of the nascent American Elite, and the spectrum of their character is evident to this day. Those of us who see ourselves as “Something Apart” would do well to remember this.
Oliver also used a pseud. I will ponder this for a long while before I write much more about it, but I feel I should comment on this practice being still very much in use. We have become very sophisticated in our analysis and understanding of power. Well, some men in the DR anyway. A decade of study, writing, and arguments have gotten us to a place where the distributed supercomputer of Right Wing Bros Online can very quickly assess events, analyze characters, and figure out what it means for our Friends and our Enemies. This didn’t come easy, and it won’t last forever. No conclusions, prescriptions, or proscriptions. Just…
Think about the diaspora Royalists and the pseuds that contributed to the Federalist Papers. You look at objectively stupid and gay stuff like Hamilton the musical1, or more quality and worthwhile stuff like 1776, or any of the thousands of other building bricks in the legend wall of America, and you start to believe that these were magical men, made of rare stuff that is now extinct. But it just isn’t true.
They were just men, like us, thrust into very interesting times, like we are, with a whole range of fears and desires, which we all have, and given a chance to make choices, as are we. The rebels didn’t need Washington or Franklin or Adams; those men needed the Rebellion. The breakaway could have happened sooner or later, or even not at all. In the same way, we didn’t need Trump to realize there are too many foreigners that hate our country, or that the political class is besotted with criminals, or that our culture is sick and dying. All of that stuff was known to every man that was actually paying attention. Trump needed us to do what he’s doing. Vance, possibly moreso. It’s a system. It’s not just Trump or Just MAGA. Sometimes the leaders follow just as the followers are led.
Sometimes adversaries are closer in kind than allies. I think, when Jay et al were penning the Federalist Papers, they probably wished that there were more Olivers around in the young country, more men willing to promote order and shun revolutionary sentiment…
Anyway, it was an awesome book.
I have recorded three attempts at an Afterword where I discuss my thoughts on the book. They aren’t bad, per se, just not what I am looking for. I haven’t said what I need to say. When I do, I will post it. Until then…
I hope you enjoyed listening as much as I enjoyed recording.
If you like Hamilton, you are stupid and gay. Don’t cry about it. Don’t get huffy. Just be a good little gay boy and keep it to your fucking self. Gaymo.
