But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour’d rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect.
What speaks of America’s greatness more than a young, armed man defending his home?
Only this: The young man is an 11-year-old Little League player, he is armed with a machete, and there were not one but three invaders.
Braydon Smith of North Carolina was the hero in this real-life story this June. When the moment came, the boy ambushed his much more imposing enemies with great skill and courageous fortitude, and he won a victory for which the whole nation can be proud.
One of the charged suspects, Jataveon Dashawn Hall, was caught after attending a nearby hospital suffering complications from a cranial interaction with Smith’s machete skills. The U.S. press, which isn’t always impressed with such vigilantism, gave Smith warm treatment. It may have taken the detachment of the BBC’s very British report to provide the best angle, though: “The boy, who is a baseball player, bought the machete with gift cards some time ago and normally uses it to chop down trees.”
Why does Smith chop down trees? No explanation was given, and so we must assume he does so simply because it’s fun.
Baseball. Weapons. Self-reliance. Gift cards. Casual deforestation.
This is the American story in brief.
