Two hundred forty-one
years ago, ordinary citizens across the American colonies printed pamphlets and
distributed their passionate words to shape public opinion and galvanize the
independence movement.
These colonial
pioneers faced violent suppression from a powerful ruling class but their simple
pamphlets proved to be more powerful.
Today’s bloggers are the modern-day offspring of the American Revolution’s
pamphleteers.
The brave and
resolute men and women behind those blogs hold down jobs and raise their
families or selflessly provide care for loved ones. Unfortunately, they
are often overlooked. They possess an unwavering dedication to inform and
warn their readers.
In
2013 I decided to honor bloggers whose work was filled “with the
breathings of their heart.” I refer
to the bloggers whose sites are small in comparison to the “corporate” blogs
that have an army of writers, resources and capital. These are the good people who feed our soul—who
make us laugh about ourselves or life—and restore our buoyancy in a troubled
world. They champion freedom of
expression.
I chose Paul Revere as the icon for the award because he was an
American patriot whose legendary “Midnight Ride” to warn the colonists of
Massachusetts before the historic battles at Lexington and Concord played a
vital role in America’s struggle to gain independence from Britain.
Paul Revere was not born to wealth—he was an ordinary man who
lived an extraordinary life. Revere was a patriot, a businessman, an involved
citizen, and a popular and well-respected member of his community.
An obituary in the Boston Intelligence solemnly noted,
"Seldom has the tomb closed upon a life so honorable and useful."
This year’s award is
a representation of the Longines Symphonette Great American Events Medal
depicting Paul Revere with the Boston church tower in the background.
From today through
Saturday, June 10, we will accept nominations of bloggers who, in the view of
our readers, deserve to be recognized.
Please nominate the
blog(s) you would like to see win the Fifth Annual Paul Revere Award in the
comments section below. Just provide a link to the blog(s) you’d like to
nominate and I will take it from there.
Each winner will
receive a personalized award in the form of a badge which they can display on
their website if they so choose.
Here are last year’s
distinguished winners:
I want to kick off
the nomination process by keeping a promise I made last year to a gentleman who goes by the
Internet handle “Odd Job” who nominated Xenophilic The Return. Due to an oversight on my part his nomination
was inadvertently omitted. I sent him a
gift card from Amazon as a sincere apology for my mistake.
Good luck to all the
nominees and a special thank you to all of our readers for making this award
more successful with each passing year.
UPDATE: Thanks to Woodsterman
for linking to this post. I hope others
will spread the word so together we can all recognize the hard work of conservative
bloggers.
