by Teri Ong
In January, a lovely lady from the Congo, who now lives in our city, visited our church. Her visit gave me an opportunity to dust off my very dusty skills in speaking French. Working my way through what is left of my conversational vocabulary caused me to review in my mind some of the lessons I learned in French history back in the day. As a result of this exercise, I have been struck by some of the dangerous parallels between what happened in France about 200 years ago, and what is happening in our own society at the present time.
In the run-up to the French Revolution, Louis XVI tried to set in motion some very important tax and financial reforms. He was considered to be sincere in his desire to improve conditions for the French people, though he lacked the power to institute the changes that might have staved off the revolution. Some of his loyal ministers were stymied when it came to enacting his reforms, which included spreading equitable tax burdens across all classes. Powerful people in his court put a stop to the reforms and opened the door for revolt by the poor peasant class.
During his reign, the first public report ever on government finances revealed to all that France was bankrupt. When the king opened the equivalent of Congress, known as the “Estates General,” for the first time in 100 years to address the crisis in 1789, the assembly broke out in quarrels over procedure and became deadlocked. A group of the more radical men in the assembly, the third estate [members of the professional and working class], broke away from the king’s assembly and proclaimed themselves as the “National Assembly.” They made a vow of solidarity until a new constitution was drawn up. The king declared their action null and void, and dispersed the whole assembly. The first and second estates [the clergy and the nobility] complied, but the third estate rose up in open rebellion. This caused the people of Paris to loot local businesses to arm themselves, which led to the ultimate assault on the Bastille. The storming of the Bastille is celebrated as the beginning of the Revolution.
In the early phase, also called the “political phase,” documents were drawn up by the “National Assembly,” who renamed themselves the “Constituent Assembly.” Under the new regime, feudalism was legally ended and many people were allowed to vote. A charter similar to our Bill of Rights was drawn up promising the right to own property, the right to resist oppression, the right to religious freedom, equality before the law, free speech and a free press.
Well enough! Many thought the revolution would end there, but it did not. The “Reign of Terror” was still to come. King Louis did all he could to resist the revolution. But the National Assembly kept the pressure on. They issued a new currency backed by the value of properties that had been seized by the revolutionaries. The nobility and clergy urged the king to flee, but he would not.
In 1792 the Legislative Assembly convened and declared war against Prussia and Austria. The rumor was widely circulated that the king secretly sided with the enemies of France because his family was related to nobility in almost every European nation. In response to this rumor, the people of Paris stormed the palace, and the monarchy was declared at an end. Hundreds of anti-revolutionary men were rounded up, imprisoned, and massacred. The most radical of the three parties in the legislature, the Jacobins, took full control of the country.
Under the Jacobins, Louis XVI and his queen Marie Antoinette were guillotined. The moderate party, the Girondists, were crushed and many executed. Most of the families who had any land or wealth became targets of violence for those in the lowest classes who now felt they had the right to take whatever they wanted. The guillotine is still the dark symbol of this time in history. The radicals suppressed all enemies by any means. The head of the euphemistically named Committee of Public Safety was the infamous Robespierre, who used violence and domestic terrorism to institute Draconian reforms, such as outlawing Christianity, changing the calendar and all units of measurement, and instituting full government control of the press. So much for rights!
A rebellion against the rebellion took place in 1794 and Robespierre was executed. Another new constitution was drawn up that gave power to five directors. The “Directory” proved to be just as corrupt and incompetent as those who had come before. They led France into utter bankruptcy through a series of wars of conquest, principally led by Napoleon Bonaparte. He and two others ousted the “Directory” and took over the reins of power in 1799.
By 1802, the people were so exhausted by the turmoil and terror, they were willing to make Napoleon “First Consul for life,” in order to have a chance at stability. But only two years later, dissatisfied with anything less than absolute power, Napoleon was declared emperor. As emperor, he set out to conquer all of Europe. His followers believed he was freeing feudal Europe, but he really wanted all of Europe under his own power. The writer of the chapter on Napoleon in Great Events in World History says:
When Napoleon first made himself master of France, he posed as the savior of the French Revolution, but he had no intention of granting the political liberty the revolutionists had fought for. He established a police regime with censorship and secret agents… As all dictators have done, he gave the people the right to agree, and posed as a representative of the people’s will. (p. 190)
Napoleon himself famously said, “ The French want glory and the satisfaction of their vanity, but as for liberty, they have no realization of what that means.” (p. 191)
France was not to be truly stable for a hundred years, and just as things were looking better, the people had to deal with being center stage in WWI and WWII.
The working class people were whipped up again and again to support the causes of various power-mad usurpers. They were promised social justice, but were used as canon fodder for a series of violent coups. Their lives were not made better by the political parties that used them, and for whom they gave their life-blood. They rose up against what they believed were oppressive monarchs, and they got worse– party leaders who ruled by violence and fear.
There are many facets of this slice of history that seem stunningly familiar. A leader who desires to enact desirable tax reform. Oligarchical powers in the government that resist the leader and his reforms for their own personal gain. The spreading of rumors of treason. The desire to overthrow the legitimate leader. Political correctness police that eliminate opposition voices. The whipping up of the people through promises of “social justice” for so-called oppressed classes. The use of people to achieve personal political power and wealth. The advocating of violent means to suppress dissent, especially the dissent of religious people. The crushing of moderates and conservatives in the name of stability. Strong-arm police tactics for “process crimes.” There are more if you dig a little deeper.
When Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, the current darling of the radical Left, stands up before the press and says that it isn’t right that some wealthy people fly around in private jets while there are homeless people on the streets of New York City, beware! She may be stirring up a following as fodder for her own political power. She and the radicals of her party may not use a guillotine to take off the heads of the owners of private jets, but they will do all in their power to sever wallets and bank accounts from the hand that feeds them. History tells us that the wealth they do manage to confiscate will not make the lives of the less fortunate better; it will go into the pockets of those even further removed from legitimacy who think they deserve to be emperor of the world.
As Christians, we can be eternally grateful that our King of kings, and Lord of lords is not of that mindset. Only under King Jesus can we be assured of having true “liberte, egalite, et fraternite”– liberty, equality, and brotherhood.
25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. 26 “It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, 27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matt 20:25-28 NASB
Do not be fooled. The world’s wealthiest men and their political accomplices don’t have any desire to make life better for the masses. They do not come to serve or rescue the oppressed, but they will use them for their own ends. It has always been that way. Those who promise Utopia don’t want anyone to remember that “Utopia” is the Greek word for “Nowhere.”
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The chronology of events in my essay comes from “France: History” in The American Peoples Encyclopedia, Vol.8. Chicago: Spencer Press.
Quotations are from Great Events in World History, Edmund A. Brown, ed. New York: Parent’s Magazine Education Press, Inc., 1960.
