Andrew Davis
Miss Smith
Enriched Language Arts 10- period 3
10/11/2008
Rebuttal
With all due respect I move to disagree with my colleague Mr. Henry. Wise members of the House, I implore you to take a closer look at our predicament. I think that upon deeper inspection you may find that the actions so forcefully proposed by Mr. Henry are rather rash, not to mention outright treasonous! Pray that you would here me, most honorable members of the House, that I may shed a new light upon our situation, instead of the deathly pallor that hath been so recently cast upon it!
Gentlemen, Mr. Henry claims that we “indulge in illusions of hope” , but tell me, what are these illusions that we maintain? I see in front of me a Congress that dose not dilly- dally with petty illusions! I see a Congress that thinks before it considers anything that may be harmful to the colonies!
Mr. Henry is correct, saying that the British Parliament has ignored our pleas for the last ten years. Just because we are their colonies does not mean that they may not have more pressing issues at hand, however. Have you given thought to that? The outside world is immeasurably large, containing many nations with many more people. Would you have Britain adhere to our needs only to accidentally incite a war with one of the less civilized nations? I should think not, for such thoughts are unbecoming of we diplomats.
You might ask why Great Britain has armies and navies posted in this region whilst there are no enemies to be found? The answer is not to thwart us, as Mr. Henry would have you believe, but to protect us! We have encountered the savage Indians before and we know how terrible they can be, but what else dwells out there? What other evils lurk within the shadows of untamed lands? It is from these threats that we cannot yet see that the British seek to shield us from.
It is true that we have not made much headway with Parliament, but we must not give in! We must try to win what we desire with diplomacy, not guns. As soon as we strike against them we become no better than the lunatic savages that haunt our lands! However, if we continue upon our current course then in due time Parliament will be forced to realize our demands!
I think Mr. Henry is wrong, there is no imminent storm heading toward us. Even with there were such an oncoming storm there is much we can do to avert it. We can boycott unnecessary British products, better yet we could come up with a product that they need that we have the ability to manufacture! Such an important discovery would surely grant us the upper hand that we require!
How can we fight the British? Our principals are noble, but should we join battle over them we cannot hope to come out the victors. If we fought we would hang faster than even this treasonous meeting could warrant! Besides, what probability do we have of winning even a single battle against the British? The chance of that would be miniscule indeed.
I fear that Mr. Henry may be right when he says that our strength wanes with each passing day. Even if this is true right now is by no means the right time to strike! If we truly wish to see revolution then for the time being we must lie low. Eventually the British troops will be withdrawn, then, and only then, can we strike. Sadly it would seem as though our chance at revolution this day and age has long ago flown the coop. Only a fool and an idiot would entertain the thought of moving against the British this day.
Mr. Henry claims that we are three million strong, but how many of those millions are women and children? How many are too young or too old to bear arms? God may favor our cause, but he cannot fire the rifle at our enemies for us. In our current position logic would dictate that there is no possible victory for us. Even if by some miracle we actually win, at what cost would our victory be bought? How many would die as a result? Do you really wish the blood of dead men to stain your hands?
Despite our best efforts there are those who are beginning to strike out at British soldiers, making war seem almost imminent, but we do not just sit here idly as Mr. Henry claims! As members of this House we must make decisions that could change millions of lives forever, and we handle this responsibility with the utmost care. I heard Mr. Henry speak of chains and slaves, I would rather be a slave than to see our country run red with the blood of its citizens! Would you die for a vain hope that never existed? Or would you submit to slavery? If nothing else at least the slave lives on to fight another day when their master is fat and slow witted!
Miss Smith
Enriched Language Arts 10- period 3
10/11/2008
Rebuttal
With all due respect I move to disagree with my colleague Mr. Henry. Wise members of the House, I implore you to take a closer look at our predicament. I think that upon deeper inspection you may find that the actions so forcefully proposed by Mr. Henry are rather rash, not to mention outright treasonous! Pray that you would here me, most honorable members of the House, that I may shed a new light upon our situation, instead of the deathly pallor that hath been so recently cast upon it!
Gentlemen, Mr. Henry claims that we “indulge in illusions of hope” , but tell me, what are these illusions that we maintain? I see in front of me a Congress that dose not dilly- dally with petty illusions! I see a Congress that thinks before it considers anything that may be harmful to the colonies!
Mr. Henry is correct, saying that the British Parliament has ignored our pleas for the last ten years. Just because we are their colonies does not mean that they may not have more pressing issues at hand, however. Have you given thought to that? The outside world is immeasurably large, containing many nations with many more people. Would you have Britain adhere to our needs only to accidentally incite a war with one of the less civilized nations? I should think not, for such thoughts are unbecoming of we diplomats.
You might ask why Great Britain has armies and navies posted in this region whilst there are no enemies to be found? The answer is not to thwart us, as Mr. Henry would have you believe, but to protect us! We have encountered the savage Indians before and we know how terrible they can be, but what else dwells out there? What other evils lurk within the shadows of untamed lands? It is from these threats that we cannot yet see that the British seek to shield us from.
It is true that we have not made much headway with Parliament, but we must not give in! We must try to win what we desire with diplomacy, not guns. As soon as we strike against them we become no better than the lunatic savages that haunt our lands! However, if we continue upon our current course then in due time Parliament will be forced to realize our demands!
I think Mr. Henry is wrong, there is no imminent storm heading toward us. Even with there were such an oncoming storm there is much we can do to avert it. We can boycott unnecessary British products, better yet we could come up with a product that they need that we have the ability to manufacture! Such an important discovery would surely grant us the upper hand that we require!
How can we fight the British? Our principals are noble, but should we join battle over them we cannot hope to come out the victors. If we fought we would hang faster than even this treasonous meeting could warrant! Besides, what probability do we have of winning even a single battle against the British? The chance of that would be miniscule indeed.
I fear that Mr. Henry may be right when he says that our strength wanes with each passing day. Even if this is true right now is by no means the right time to strike! If we truly wish to see revolution then for the time being we must lie low. Eventually the British troops will be withdrawn, then, and only then, can we strike. Sadly it would seem as though our chance at revolution this day and age has long ago flown the coop. Only a fool and an idiot would entertain the thought of moving against the British this day.
Mr. Henry claims that we are three million strong, but how many of those millions are women and children? How many are too young or too old to bear arms? God may favor our cause, but he cannot fire the rifle at our enemies for us. In our current position logic would dictate that there is no possible victory for us. Even if by some miracle we actually win, at what cost would our victory be bought? How many would die as a result? Do you really wish the blood of dead men to stain your hands?
Despite our best efforts there are those who are beginning to strike out at British soldiers, making war seem almost imminent, but we do not just sit here idly as Mr. Henry claims! As members of this House we must make decisions that could change millions of lives forever, and we handle this responsibility with the utmost care. I heard Mr. Henry speak of chains and slaves, I would rather be a slave than to see our country run red with the blood of its citizens! Would you die for a vain hope that never existed? Or would you submit to slavery? If nothing else at least the slave lives on to fight another day when their master is fat and slow witted!
