What do you know about the French Revolution?
- Guillotines
- Rioting
- Chaos
- Fear
The French Revolution was not a French version of the American War of Independence. It was an experiment in desperation and lawlessness that destroyed and killed.
Anyone linked to the aristocracy and the land-owning class were dragged out of their homes to monkey trials for sentencing and jailing…or beheading. French mobs burned down the beautiful golden Hall of Mirrors in Versailles, pulled down statues, and destroyed lifetimes of craftsmanship and irreplaceable art. They destroyed evidence of the best of themselves while becoming the worst.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens was a snapshot of the daily, senseless danger France plunged into during this period.
It was so horrible, after more than two centuries the guillotine remains a familiar symbol of hopelessness and terror.
And here we are, in the freest country in the world
- Tearing down statues
- Rioting
- Looting
- Street killings of children and innocents adding up
- Planned assaults on police stations, small businesses, and homes
- Politicians egging the criminals on, even releasing more to increase community fear and peril.
Using the rich as a scapegoat for everything wrong in society, as the French did, as we are urged to do now, ranks of envy and meanness. It is wanting unearned comforts and releases a base part of ourselves.
Good creates and builds. Connects and uplifts.
It doesn’t destroy, condemn, or steal.
There are those who claim to reinstate the proper order of things for the common good, while their lips and fingers drip with ruined lives.
They lie. They lie to you and they lie to themselves about the true nature of wealth distribution.
A thought tangent inspired by FEE article “Why We Should be Concerned About Prejudice Toward the Rich” by Dr. Rainer Zitelmann.
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
Thought Ripples by Wendi 