Tea at Trianon: Civility and Revenge

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Sunday, September 2, 2018

Civility and Revenge

From Townhall:

On the heels of Maxine Waters’ now-infamous proclamation that conservatives should be harassed in public, we’ve heard a lot about ‘restoring civility.’ According to the left, the blame rests with Trump, but they acknowledge that the situation has gotten out of hand. Political attitudes have suddenly become so mean-spirited that we all need to take a step back, reassess the situation, and tone down the rhetoric.

Chuck Schumer called such vitriol un-American, saying:“If you disagree with someone or something, stand up. Make your voice heard. Explain why you think they’re wrong, and why you’re right. Make the argument. Protest peacefully. If you disagree with a politician, organize your fellow citizens to action and vote them out of office. But no one should call for the harassment of political opponents. That’s not right. That’s not American.”

Around the same time, Nancy Pelosi issued a statement demanding unity:“In the crucial months ahead, we must strive to make America beautiful again. Trump’s daily lack of civility has provoked responses that are predictable but unacceptable. As we go forward, we must conduct elections in a way that achieves unity from sea to shining sea.”

As we approach the midterms, this line of reasoning has become part of the Democrats’ meat and potatoes whenever they appear in public. Things are too nasty in America, and we need to get back to a time where we could disagree without wanting to destroy each other. It’s a nice thought. (Read more.)