Very good @zuerich. 👍 Lots of "meat and potatoes" for thoughtful reflection in this post. For anyone willing to even begin to consider the true "state of affairs," in the big, wide world all around us.
"In fact, France’s inability to regain its financial footing in succeeding decades is considered by many historians as the underlying cause of the French Revolution and, by extension, the rise of Napoleon."
Yep. One of my favorite historical topics is a true (hmmm, seems to be a ... "trend" ... here) comparison of the American and the French revolutions - just a few years apart from each other. I cannot improve on one author summing it up with:
"The only thing these two revolutions have in common is the word revolution itself."
And yet ... Today ... How far down the road is my beloved country to going through its own version of the French revolution, with its philosophical (and spiritual) underpinnings? As a direct cause and effect of the "progressive" Left's relentlessly attacking and rewriting the history of the American revolution, with its true philosophical (and spiritual) underpinnings?
Only God knows. While it saddens me that "we" (collectively) do even now have a free will choice to make in avoiding the inevitable and yet still far too commonly experience the unwillingness to (again, collectively) make it, I can sum up my thoughts on your excellent post here with this famous quote:
"Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
And end with my oft-stated "I hope to be proven wrong." We do not have long to wait to find out what the American people have chosen to do.
The only way to prevent the planned and profitable destruction of the American Republic is for the American people to defend it themselves. Delegating their authority to one of the liars destroying it (while claiming to be the only way to defend it) will keep the destruction ongoing. There is no other mechanism whereby Americans can keep their free republic than robustly securing it with their personal arms.
American governments have been corrupted for as long as they have existed, and the largest and oldest the most. The more wealth jurisdictions have the more more vigorously they are infiltrated and commandeered, and the longer they have existed the longer corruption has been eating their innards. The smallest and least financially endowed governments have the least to offer criminals and are the best observed and audited by civilians, thus the least corrupted governments are small towns.
America doesn't have any Blue states. It has a few dozen big blue cities trying to sink their fangs into the financial veins of jurisdictions that are less corrupt. Democracy in this way is a threat to our republic, because big cities of corrupt criminals can outvote many small towns on statewide issues. Voting won't do any good. The lesser evil is still evil, and there are no good choices when corrupt criminals control who gets to be a candidate.
The only thing that stops evil is well armed good men. That's the only thing that made America, kept America, or can keep America free, prosperous, and secure. Voting works great in places where everybody knows each other and work together to build their community. Above Dunbar's Number (~150, IIRC) election fraud, lies, and corruption take over. The more laws there are, the less free people are, and the longer lawmakers have been making laws, the less able good men are to defend their freedom, because laws are cumulative and pile up on law abiding people.
This is why cats are more free than people, any people anywhere, and not just Afghani girls. America needs to be more like a herd of cats, and less like Afghani girls, IMHO. It's a lot harder to take food from hungry cats than the food is worth, and that's how Americans should be about freedom. Freedom is priceless, so we need to defend it with extreme vigor because it's worth a fortune to criminals that can take it away.
Yep, we can agree on this much:
Over 30 years ago, as a political activist, I was literally in the homes of over 200 people (minimum) in soliciting help, with my ... "pitch" ... starting with this simple question:
Sadly, the answer was a more or less emphatically stated, "Yes!" every single time. Every ... single ... time ... Remarkable how effective the "progressive" Left had been in "wiping" the collective memory of our people about all of the vitally important details of why our Founding Fathers created a Republic ...
P.S. My upvote is meaningless, as I removed +$20,000 from the Hive blockchain following my post here, before it lost +50% of its value ...
It is good that I am not the only American that recognizes the importance of our form of government, and not only the process of informing it of our wishes.
I don't concern myself with weight of someone's stake. Upvotes indicate agreement, appreciation, and things like that I value more than money. You have a prudential duty to manage your financial affairs, which it seems you have tended well regarding Hive tokens.
Yes, it is not very modest, I suppose, but I view my knowledge of our heritage to be far beyond most of my fellow countrymen. Hard won, given the effort I had to invest in developing it, once I became politically active. I very quickly became aware of how poorly my education (by design, I would passionately argue ...) had served me in providing answers to even the most basic questions.
As a result, I can tell you or anyone else that has even a modicum of interest in the topic, there is no mystery behind why our Founding Fathers provided us with our form of governance. And what kind of people would be required for it to succeed over time.
They were prolific writers. With a command of ... "the King's English" ... that far exceeds our own.
Water under the bridge. We (collectively) are so far downstream from the original intent of those who wrote ...
... that we can only imagine what they might say to us, if they could walk among us and see what has become of the country for which they gave so much.
I can well imagine such excoriation, well deserved, and exhortation to better stand for rights of vastly more value than mere money. I do not know what they might make of the incredible opportunities opening to free men of courage and ambition, of 3D printed rockets, pneumatic inflatable habitats, aquaponics, solar panels, and supercapacitors, but would bet such potential would strike them as the call of Providence to build the prophesied paradise that men might be sovereign to the limits of their ambition, for the duration of their lives.
I know that is what I see coming, and I am a far lesser man than were they.
Thank you for your interesting comment, @roleerob!
Oh yes, very few similarities between the French and the American Revolution. It's a bit like the gap between the French and the British Enlightenment. While the British thinkers really reformed their system of governance by limiting monarchy constitutionally, increasing practiced liberty and individual rights, the French philosophized in very abstract terms while living in an absolute monarchy. The British were more moderate (and skepticist), e.g. towards religion, while the French were more radical (or rather extreme).
Concerning the developments in the US, I am far more optimist than here in Europe. The American people is "well-fortified", able to resist - if a (Harris) Government goes too far. In the UK people are jailed for posting memes…
Yes, we will soon see what's ahead for the US, and how the party losing (or supposedly losing?) this election will deal with it... Let's hope for the best.
Very good @zuerich. I appreciate the reference you are making to the British and French Enlightenment. As you say, "limiting monarchy" vs. "absolute monarchy" ... As succinctly as I can state it, I would suggest this has to do with both nations perspective on whether or not there is a sovereign ... "presence" ... greater than their own. At least some in Britain believed there was, but in France? While I am sure there must have been a few people, they had no known impact on the direction their "revolution" / enlightenment took ...
With an unapologetic Judeo-Christian world view, I can say off the top of mind here this morning, I cannot think of a single "church father" from France, while there are a number of prominent names which could be listed from Great Britain. If there is no God, history shows us example after example of men deciding they, therefore, are "God" and from this mental & spiritual foundation, arises whatever form of the "Almighty" State they establish in His place.
"We" (collectively) are still waiting for an example of that going well for any length of time, i.e. generation to generation, as fathers pass on to their children and grandchildren a peaceful, prosperous future ...
But ... Plan for the worst ... History does not tell us what happened when the "progressive" Left lost the 2020 election, like it did when it lost the 2016 election. Following the precedent setting riots all over America from George Floyd's death, I think they would have been ... "unprecedented." Oh, surprise, surprise, all the changes they were able to successfully make in our election laws all over the country (loosening restrictions designed to prevent cheating), publicly "positioned" as a response to the global COVID-19 insanity, worked. No rioting needed. Instead erase all evidence, have court after court rule there is no "legal standing" to bring any hint of a problem into court to have it carefully argued on its merits, but instead go on a massive "BIG LIE!" psyops campaign. And place Americans in prison from January 6th and still today not charge them with anything, as a symbol to everyone else ...
No greater example can be cited about the legal and, I would strongly suggest, proper constitutionally-provided solution to the 2020 elections than 28 states, led by Texas, petitioning the Supreme Court. Nope. It was rejected ... If the true history of those times is ever written, what will historians have to say about the enormous power fear plays in swaying what people chose to do in the face of tyranny?
Anyway ... My "advance prediction" for what is only now a short time away? Whatever the American people have elected to do, the "final and official" decision resulting from it will be challenged in ways which will be ... "unprecedented" ... as America's proud, globally recognized tradition of "peaceful transfers of power" every 4 years comes to an end.
As is far too often the case, I hope to be proven wrong ...