“Tyranny is our foe. Whatever trapping or disguise it wears, whatever language it speaks, be it external or internal, we must for ever be on our guard, ever mobilized, ever vigilant, always ready to spring at its throat.
In all this we march together. Not only do we march and strive shoulder to shoulder at this moment, under the fire of the enemy on the fields of war or in the air, but also in those realms of thought which are consecrated to the rights and the dignity of man.“-Winston S. Churchill
17 Warriors for freedom, peace and prosperity by way of voluntary cooperation arose to greet the dawn of a new day and defend the island. The white flags were burned long ago and surrender was removed from the vernacular. There would be no appeasing of tyrants and according to legend it went a little something like this.
Mosey over the grass circle for COP
IC X 20; SSH, IW, Lunge, HRM, WWII. Arm circle X 1
Mosey to the coupon depot and on to the valley of doubt.
FIVER
Five rounds of the following; squat press on one side, run to other side and complete five burpees.
FARMER CARRY
Partner up for a big boy version of Catch Me If You Can. One partner grabs both coupons and begins moving down the valley, up the other side, up the hill and on to the circle. The other partner completes 3 Polar Bears and runs to catch his partner, then switcheroo.
TRIPLE CHECK
Exercies are American Hammer with coupon and 6 inches. The timer is the man completing 20 Super Merkins. This is a merkin with both blocks on the ground and your hands on each, completing a merkin with a much bigger range of motion.
FOUR CORNERS
Mosey to field with coupon. Complete 4 burpee ups with blocks at each corner. Return coupons at completion.
HOUSE OF PAIN
Mosey to amphitheater and start at the bottom. Complete a box jump per the number of steps. 1 on first row, 2 on second row, etc.
BURPEE SHUFFLE
Mosey to circle for one last bit of fun.
Namerama, numberama, Probation led us out.
Prayer Requests: Keep Swirly’s M in your prayers this week and send him a word of encouragement. You know he’s done it for you.
FNG: Welcome Schwing. This is an official upgrade as Hobby Lobby, Shot Gun and Fozzy Bear were in the running for the names. He is Shiplap’s step brother. There was some connection to Aldi (either the store or the town in northern Virginia). Aldi the store was also started by brothers who had a falling our with the older brother Dieter apparently being a real jerk. Dieter was a character played by Mike Meyers and the closest thing he had to a brother on SNL was Garth. When Wayne and Garth got boners at the same time they said “Schwing“.
Moleskin: YHC has done lots of reflecting, thinking, praying and researching over the past nine months. It’s a really wild time and I’m particularly interested to think about how history will remember these past nine months and the decisions we have made and what we have allowed to be made for us. The video that opens the post is from a Winston Churchill speech he gave warning the Americans about the dangers of appeasing tyrants. It’s hard to truly understand through a modern lens how much of a pariah he was at the time for this belief. The world was still reeling from the first World War and understandably there was little appetite for a principled stand. This was recorded about one month after the Munich Pact was signed.
The Munich Pact was an agreement that Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain thought would prevent a full on war. The agreement was that Germany could have some German speaking parts of Czechoslovakia and this little bit of concession would be enough to stop the totalitarian behavior of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party or Nazis for short. The Nazis had committed atrocities through the 1930s and they never once honored any agreement or pact. Chamberlain was sure that by appeasing them he could prevent a war and lots of smart people agreed with him. They were sure if they sacrificed just a little, they would get a desired outcome.
Churchill stood nearly alone in his resoluteness that appeasing tyrants would only accelerate their abuse. He was steadfast in his belief that the best way to protect his people was by defending their freedom at all costs. Nine months after the Munich Pact was signed, the Germans invaded Poland just as Churchill predicted.
Doing what was easy instead of what was right cost millions of lives and altered the trajectory for an entire nation of people. I wonder how many people initially supported Chamberlain who had a change of heart, but were too afraid to admit a mistake in their strategy. History paints a picture that as the situation with the Nazis worsened, there were many Brits intent on defending their decision rather than their island, much to their detriment.
Winston was far from perfect, but he will go down as one of the most principled and courageous men the world ever produced. May we all be so courageous to identify and defend the things we believe in at all costs with clarity, purpose and conviction.
If you aren’t clear in what you stand for and where your morals are, then some one will do it for you.
HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED?
Never give up. Dig a little deeper and get it all out.
Your pal,
Hardywood
