In The Shadow Of The Blade

In July 1789, the people of Paris rose up and stormed the Bastille, Paris’ notorious prison and symbol of autocratic rule and oppression. They grabbed the warden, beat the crap out of him until he was dead and then cut off his head, stuck it on a pole and marched it around the city. It was probably a bit over the top considering that he was merely a bureaucratic functionary doing his job but the people corrected themselves later by going after the monarch and aristocrats. 

Things really started rolling then, especially heads.

Unfortunately, the revolutionary government became even more oppressive than the monarchy it replaced. It ruled by tyranny in the name of democracy and used terror as a political instrument. Eventually, the people who had started and led the revolution, turned on each other and themselves became victims of the same blood-thirsty tyranny imposed by the Revolutionary Council.

Robespierre and St. Juste used corruption charges to remove Camille Desmoulins and Geroges-Jacques Danton (two of the revolution’s founders), among others, from their positions and had them executed. Shortly thereafter, it was time for St. Juste and Robespierre to feel the sharp edge of the revolution on the back of their necks.

It was tyranny dressed up as a democratic republic but as so often happens, it was all dressed up but had nowhere to go. It became known as the Reign of Terror and it was intentional and chaotic. Eventually order was restored and Napoleon crowned himself emperor, embarked France on European wars that eventually led to his downfall and that, my friends, led to the restoration of the monarchy. Events had come full circle and a lot of people had lost their heads to achieve pretty much nothing up to that point.

France did eventually become a democratic republic which continues to thrive to this day but it was a violent and circuitous route to get here.

So what has that got to do with today?

I Am Racist!

I know I’m racist because I’ve been told so. I’ve been told I’m racist because I don’t believe Barack Obama has been a very good president. Even though I could care less about the colour of his skin, I’m a racist because I believe he is the ultimate triumph of glib rhetoric over real accomplishment. I’m a racist because I believe his record as president illustrates his lack of commitment to his stated values and demonstrates little more than a love of the spotlight and a lust for power.

The American economy is in tatters. Unemployment is consistently over 8% and this president has ignored not only the spirit of the constitution but the letter of it. It is his Attorney General who stands in contempt of Congress for failing to turn over documents that were subpoenaed in the Fast & Furious scandal. It is this president who supported him in his disdain for the people’s representatives.

The Charter Of Common Sense

I have invited people in the past to write a post for this blog with great result. Each brought a unique point of view and sometimes certain poignancy to a topic that made each post well worth reading. I’ve invited a well-respected man to provide posthumously today’s post because I think what he said and wrote encapsulated the entire conversation in every area in which we are all participating.

It's a very short post but then he was a very thoughtful writer who was able to say in only a few words what most of us struggle to say in many. Ronald Regan referred to these 10 points as 'The American Charter' but I think of them more as simply a Charter of Common Sense.

For And Against

There was a time when the debate on issues was not only civil, it was quite rich in content. It wasn’t so much an argument as an exploration of different ideas with both the left and the right bringing passion and conviction to an honest discussion of how best to resolve something. 

Today, there is none of that richness in the debate, no exploration of different ideas or the building of mutual understanding. Today it has come down to only two positions; you’re either for something or against it. Increasingly, the left which likes to call itself progressive and liberal is the ‘anti’ side of the argument and that is one of the major obstacles to our nations moving forward.

To be sure, the left is in favour of certain things but inevitably those things are at the expense of others financially or in terms of rights and/or individual freedom. They are threatened by the success of the individual claiming it comes at the expense of others. 

The left favours more government regulation on just about everything from the environment to healthcare. God alone understands why. If nothing else, government has demonstrated a remarkable inability to do anything cost-effectively, efficiently or in a timely manner.