What are the similarities between this year's election and the French Revolution?
Just a thought I had recently.... Here's this ruler, his family has been in power for, well, a long time. He basically ruins his country's economy by sending troops to fight a war in a different place, that they didn't really have to fight. As people start getting annoyed that he knows nothing about common people, because he's got plenty of money, he starts to become more and more unpopular. All sorts of unflattering things are printed and circulated by his opposition about him and his family, to try to turn people against them. Am I talking about Bush, or Louis XVI? Could be either. Is Bush (or more specifically, since he's on his way out anyway, the republican party) headed for the (metaphorical) guillotine? Is Obama Robespierre? I don't know, I don't know if I know enough about him (Robespierre) to really make that comparison. But sometimes those liberal protestors sure could be confused with an angry starving mob with pitchforks storming the palace gates. A few words from Wikipedia about Robespierre: "Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre is one of the best-known figures of the French Revolution. He studied at College of Louis-le-Grand in Paris and became a lawyer. His supporters called him "The Incorruptible." He was an influential member of the Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror. Politically, Robespierre was a disciple of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, among other Enlightenment philosophes, and a capable articulator of the beliefs of the left-wing bourgeoisie. He was described as physically unimposing and immaculate in attire and personal manners." Any of that sound familiar? Look at this: "In 1764 Madame de Robespierre, (Maximillien's mother) died in childbirth. Her husband left Arras and wandered around Europe until his death in Munich in 1777, leaving the children to be raised by their maternal grandfather and aunts." "Obama's parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. His father returned to Kenya and saw his son only once more before dying in an automobile accident in 1982.[5] Obama's mother returned to Hawaii in 1972 for several years and then back to Indonesia for her fieldwork. She died of ovarian cancer in 1995." One more: "After having completed the law studies, Robespierre was admitted to the Arras bar. He quickly became a successful advocate and chose overwhelmingly to represent the poor. He was a frequent speaker in the Constituent Assembly; he voiced many ideas for the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Constitutional Provisions, often with great success. With this he secured the support of the country electors, and although only 30, comparatively poor and lacking patronage, he was elected fifth deputy of the Third Estate of Artois to the Estates-General. When Robespierre arrived at Versailles, he was relatively unknown, but he soon became part of the representative National Assembly which then transformed into the Constituent Assembly. In April 1792, Robespierre resigned the post of public prosecutor of Versailles, which he had officially held, but never practised, since February." "In February 1990, in his second year, Obama was elected president of the Law Review, a full-time volunteer position functioning as editor-in-chief and supervising the Law Review's staff of 80 editors.[20] Obama's election as the first black president of the Law Review was widely reported and followed by several long, detailed profiles. In 1993, Obama joined Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, a 12-attorney law firm specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development, where he was an associate for three years from 1993 to 1996, then of counsel from 1996 to 2004, with his law license becoming inactive in 2002." There's lots, lots more. But I don't really wanna quote 2 entire articles. Let me just say that it's really interesting (to me at leat), and kinda creepy, in that Lincoln's-secretary's-name-was-Kennedy and Kennedy's-secretary's-name-was-Lincoln kinda way. I'm not saying I think Obama's about to start a reign of terror. Just that I find the similarities interesting. And on the other hand, what are the similarities between Bush, McCain, republicans in general, and Louis XVI? People are talking like Sarah Palin is the Marie Antionette of our day. ("Let them eat cake" and "I can see Russia from my house!", both popularly attributed to the two of them and causing them both ridicule, were quotes that were never actually said by either of them.) And what is the difference, or rather, what is more important, the French bankrupting themselves to help the Americans in our revolution, or the Americans helping Iraq with theirs? What if this whole thing with Iraq finally turns out the way it's supposed to, and they become one of our allies, so that, 150 years from now, when another WWII comes along, Iraq steps in t Good God, J&C, I was just making a few observations, not making rude comments about your mother. Was that really necessary? BTW, I wasn't saying that Bush is responsible for all the economic problems. He is perceived to be. That's all I meant. Jesus. Such hostility. Remind me to stay out of the history section from now on.
History - 2 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
You need help with reality. HOw did one man ruin the economy. Maybe if you spent more time reading pertinent articles you would know what I mean. YOu have such a poor grasp on history, I doubt it would do much good to elucidate.
2 :
Holy cows! Pray (as much as I dislike him and his garbage politics) Obama is not like Robespierre. Robespierre was guilty of mass murder and was eventually himself killed. If Obama should be assassinated, it will make him both a martyr and a hero and will also probably spark a "civil war." Bush is not to blame for the economic downturn. Jobs started to dwindle when Mr. Clinton signed off on NAFTA. The wars (pleural), are the result of a combination of things. Mr. Clinton continued Bush senior's military draw down but had no idea where to end. When asked, it was stated that we would never again need such a large military, that we would never again be in a two front war. Had Mr. Clinton upheld the cease fire agreement that ended the first gulf war (AKA Desert Storm), the likelihood is we would not be there now. Had Mr. Carter not gutted the CIA in '75 (and the subsequent presidents who failed to correct the deficit), we could have seen 9/11 coming. Yes, in a sad way, this REALLY does remind me of the French Revolution. The people overthrew the powers that be and have never really recovered since.
