Seven Years of War

Inflation is rampant.  The United States is in debt to many nations, not all of them friendly and continues to borrow in order to finance the war.  Nations that are ostensibly allies work behind the scenes to, if not undermine the United States directly, work to reduce its power.  The United States, desparate to reduce its debt and trade deficit, work to cement trade agreements with countries all over the world.  with varying degrees of success.

There are heated arguments in congress about authorizing expenses and raising money for an interminable war.  And, many members of congress seems to recess at the worst possible moments without making any decisions, leaving important questions, like funding the war, in limbo.

In congress, there are those who argue for a negotiated peace while many citizens passively or actively work against the government and victory.  People are talking openly about how long the country can survive if everything continues the way it has been going.  The newspapers are not all friendly and show a decided bias towards one side or another.  Editorials are either scathingly offensive or obviously supportive.  Cartoonists lampoon political figures left and right, mocking individuals, ideas and events without any sense of decorum or importance of the moment.  Some root openly for defeat.

The military is stretched thin and near to breaking.  The regular army continues to be supplemented by call ups of state guards.  Naval forces are desparately trying to protect commerce and fend off pirates from Egypt to Asia.  Islamic nations threaten US interests around the globe.  What first started out as small skirmishes between a professional army confronting small bands of armed, organized citizens, has turned into all out war.

Somehow, somewhere, a weary population still manages to produce enough men willing to fight to keep the army going and make the country victorious.  For those waiting at home, the news from the front seems bad and worse with continued lists of the wounded and dead. 

For some, idealism has given away to pragmatism.  Those who continue to insist on believing in an idea, talking about it, publishing articles about it, are ridiculed for not being realistic.  Men who were, at the outset, energetic, now seem old and tired; worn down by the minutea of governing a nation and running a war. 

Seven years of war seems seven years too long.  It seems, well, unseemly to celebrate Independence Day with the usual displays of flags and fireworks.  Besides, people are tired and money is tight.  The Army in the field celebrates Independence day in its own way with gun fire and rounds of artillery.

It is July 4th, 1781. 

In just a few months, the British main force, surrounded on all sides by the United States and its allies in its last major outpost, will surrender at Yorktown.