A Great Empire or The Fall of Rome ?

By Joe Harrison

Anyone who knows anything at all about history knows of the great Roman Empire. The popular conception is that they conquered the entire known world. They did defeat army after army as they spread the Empire larger and larger. At one time, there was no military force that could stand up to them. They were genius in their concept of how to hold and control the conquered territories. Once they defeated an army, each member of that army would be given the opportunity to join the Roman legions, if they served long enough, they could actually apply for Roman citizenship. Many soldiers took advantage of this so, in effect, the areas they just conquered were being held by the very soldiers that once defended it, all under the direction of Roman Commanders and governors of course. So there you have it, the Romans ruled the entire known world at one time, right?

Well, not so fast. With all their military might, having all of the most modern weapons and tactics available at the time, there was one people who they never could defeat. These people had no military force at all. They lived in family clans and, for generations before the arrival of the Romans, they pretty much fought against themselves most of the time. These were the people of what we now know as Scotland, but at the time, they were referred to as the Picts.

Having no standing military force the Picts did not have a large arsenal of weapons so, they fought with what they had, axes, hammers, hunting spears…whatever they could find. The women became part of the fighting force; it was their job to follow behind the men and finish off any living wounded enemy soldiers and take whatever resources they could from them. Any child who was able to wield a weapon also fought. They identified themselves by wearing tartan kilts, the pattern showed which clan they came from. When they came together to fight the Romans, they simply removed the tartans to keep their clan from being identified and fought naked. They often painted themselves all over, usually blue. They did not use any specific fighting tactics; they simply would attack from all directions at once rendering the Roman fighting formations useless. The Roman soldiers often referred to them as Barbarian Devils. The Picts did not defeat the Romans with greater numbers, better weapons or superior tactics; they defeated them through sheer will. They became such a threat to the occupying Roman forces on the Island of Britain that the Emperor Hadrian had a wall built across the entire length of the country to defend against their attacks.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, Scotland was invaded by both the Saxons and the Normans. Neither could ever completely conquer the area but many settled there and mixed with the local population. Eventually, the Vikings invaded. They were able to take control of some areas but also ended up settling and mixing with the locals. This was the birth of the Anglo-Saxons.

I guess one reason I have so much interest in this subject is the fact that the Vikings, who arrived and settled with Scotts, took many sir names, one of which was Harrison. My Father and I actually had our DNA tested once and it came back as what is known as the Viking DNA and the origins came from Scotland. My people were later moved to the plantation of Ulster in Ireland becoming the Ulster-Irish or what we in America call the Scotch-Irish. The overwhelming majority of people in the Southeastern United States originate from this same background. It is no wonder that we share the same views. It is no wonder that our ancestors fought for independence from Great Britain. It is no wonder that our ancestors fought for independence from the United States during the civil war and it is no wonder that we will once again band together and fight to keep our constitutional freedoms.

Now that I have sufficiently bored you, let me get to the point. The WILL of any people cannot be defeated if it is strong enough. We are now facing tough times and many of us fear conflict with our very own government, and I actually agree that the day is coming soon. I really don’t fear it. It does not matter what they come at us with, large forces, armored vehicles, attack helicopters or drone aircraft; our WILL cannot be defeated and will overcome in the end. In the days of the Roman Empire the Island of Britain was split in half, the southern half, now England, submitted; the northern half, now Scotland never did. History is like an eight track tape player, it never ends, it just keeps playing itself over and over and over. The weaker willed people, mostly in the northeastern part of the United States and those living in the large population centers, will submit. The rest of us never will. We will pass this WILL down to our children and grandchildren. No matter what happens, we will never give up, so to Mr. Obama, I say; give us your best shot, you are not prepared for us.
source Irish Joe Harrison