printAnn Coulter’s point (in her book Demonic, apparently), as to the difference between the blood-drenched, illiberal, irreligious French Revolution and the American Revolution is important, although neither new nor original. The “Revolution in France” is how the great Edmund Burke referred to the French Revolution. Burke believed that replacing monarchy with (a murderous) morobcracy was fundamentally, well, unFrench.
I have not seen Ms. Coulter’s citations. I don’t read her books (other than Treason, a book that did more than follow the tired theme, “liberals bad; conservatives good). Still, it would be interesting to see who Ms. Coulter cited in support of her recycled thesis.
Some of the sources I cite, in addition to Burke, are in “Thomas Paine: 18th Century Che Guevara” (October, 2010):
“… one rarely hears Burke mentioned in American public discourse, yet my countrymen know and love Thomas Paine, who sympathized with the Jacobins and spat venom at Burke for his devastating critique of the blood-drenched, illiberal, irreligious ‘Revolution in France’ …
‘Even Thomas Jefferson seems not to have grasped at first how different the French and American Revolutions were. The confusion continues today. Paine belongs to the Che Guevara ascendancy, which admires nothing unless a good dose of murder is present. There are American scholars, however, like Peter Stanlis, and Francis Canavan, who appreciate the utter consistency of Burke’s outlook with the main tendencies of American civilization. Burke said the French Revolution was murderous and would have terrible consequences. He was borne out, not only by the bloody course of the Revolution itself, but by the Communist and Nazi menaces, which drew their inspiration from and surpassed in their wickedness, the pathology of Revolutionary France. The USA played a huge part in defeating these modern despotisms, and modern France very little.”
In the late 1960s, I took a break from College and, among other travels, visited my Great Grand-Uncle, Grandmother’s side, who lived in Paris. He and his wife were not very fortunate in terms of health and wealth because of WW II, but were still alive and able to walk about the beautiful city that was and is Paris. However, in the end, I am so thankful that both Grandmere and Grandpere left France and immigrated to the U.S. when they did prior to WW I.
My good luck is that I am an AMERICAN – with all its warts and blemishes – and proud of it. I ask that all of you re-invent yourselves into entrepreneurs, scientists, explorers, inventors, and supporters of the most unique Constitution the world has ever known. Vive l’America
(ps: To all you little “Froggies” out there – THINK! – it is not too late to change.)
I shudder to think how Burke would react to the modern American state which seeks to spread, through military force, global democratic revolution among peoples who have known only Sheiks, Sultans, Khans and Caliphs for thousands of years.
I agree with Bob Harrison – la Revolution Amerique is long gone – replaced by neocons, neolibs, internationlists (UN/NATO rule), and a rah-rah jingoistic (Palinesque) “support the troops” flag wavers. The real anti-war wings of the Duopolistic parties (Paul and Kucinich) are barely tolerated.
The American revolution was also a revolt against the paternalism of the protection of the King – now we have elevated the Presidency into a rotating Kingship and turned most Americans into abject dependents whose fundamental decisions (on educating children, medical operations, travel…) are in the hands of arbitrary bureaucrats.
My French ancestors were run out of le vieux pays by the 17th century thanks to the bons soins of Huguenot persecutions, just in time to get a foot in the door of Colonial Virgina in its early days.
I’ve been reading Burke for the first time for several weeks, and I must say its painful to see how many of his predictions bear fruit worldwide today.
I was joking with my wife about some of the passages, it’s almost like the Obamas and Bushes of the world are using Reflections as a handbook, only taking care to do precisely all the deleterious things Burke warns about.
My own grandperes missed the depravities of the Jacobins but their spiritual offspring have spread worldwide, including up there across the Potomac.
I wonder if Ann Coulter has read Russell Kirk’s argument that the American Revolution was fundamentally conservative in character.
Bob and Myron, please do not give-up. If everyone surrenders, then these politicians and bureaucrats will “win” by default…and then where does one go?
I am up / down as more and more revelations about how we are being led by the nose appear in the news, but I keep active in informing people of my concerns.
Please do not go silent…a break now and then helps…then you can SHOUT IT OUT with a fresh voice!