Ralph Waldo Emerson's Concord Hymn recalls the "shot heard 'round the world" at Lexington Green in Massachusetts, the start of the American Revolution. April 1775, two hundred and thirty-five years ago.
By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled;
Here once the embattled farmers stood;
And fired the shot heard round the world.
The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps,
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream that seaward creeps.
On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We place with joy a votive stone,
That memory may their deeds redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.
O Thou who made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free, --
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raised to them and Thee.
Massachusetts is once again the site of a shot heard round the world - the election of Republican candidate, now Senator, Scott Brown in the special election to fill the seat vacated with the passing of Ted Kennedy. I noted earlier that this would be an odd legacy for Massachusetts former senior Senator - a vote by the people of his own state to seat a Senator who openly vowed to work to block his signature legislation.
Even odder is the insanity to which this has driven Democrats, particularly those in positions of power in Congress and in the Administration (I'm going to leave out Keith Olbermann, who has his own special brand of insanity). And I won't be linking those insane comments. Rather, I'm going to quote the one sane comment I've seen from a Democrat.
Even before the votes are counted, Senator Evan Bayh is warning fellow Democrats that ignoring the lessons of the Massachusetts Senate race will “lead to even further catastrophe” for their party. “There’s going to be a tendency on the part of our people to be in denial about all this,” Bayh told ABC News, but “if you lose Massachusetts and that’s not a wake-up call, there’s no hope of waking up.”
Hey, if you won't listen to a "shot heard 'round the world," what, or who, else won't you listen to?
And yes, I am calling it for Brown. With 62% reporting he leads 705,615 to 621,231. That's 53% to 46%.
1/19/10 2120: Now it's 71% reporting, and it's 822209 to 719,458, and Channel 5 (local ABC- WCVB) is reporting that Ms. Coakley has called Mr. Brown to concede. Her campaign party at the Sheraton Boston looked like a wake.
1/19/10 2300: Via Michelle Malkin, a shot heard 'round the world video. Massachusetts Miracle, indeed.
