Tea at Trianon: In Your Name

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

Thursday, December 14, 2023

In Your Name

From The History Desk:

Russia, China, Venezuela, Iran, and Palestine, are owned and operated by politicians that the people tolerate. Their rich politicos sleep with the oligarchs; sometimes literally. Nonetheless, there are more of the people than there are of leaders. Palestine has the numbers to overthrow Hamas. Just as the serfs and peasants had the numbers to overthrow their masters, back in the day. Of course, back in the day, there were no Marxists to tell the peasants they were oppressed.

Today, it is safe to say, there are enough Palestinians, 2 million, to overthrow the leadership of Hamas. If they do not attempt to overthrow that failed leadership, then they are in agreement with them: Which makes their current circumstances their responsibility.

Westerners who scream out about the “children” need to make themselves available as foster parents and organize a rescue operation for the Palestinian children. Recall that was a thing during the Viet Nam war as the Americans began to pull out. However, when a parent does something dumb, like tolerating psychopaths wreaking havoc next door, their children need rescuing. Parents like that should not be allowed to raise their own kids. Because now their kids will think it is all the fault of Israel that they are miserable. They won’t think to blame their parents, or their democracy that put this sorry bunch of men, make that older men, into place.

It is the habit of stale, old, angry men to turn young men into an angry mob who will do their killing, and be killed, for them. That is what Palestine has for its leadership.

Let me rework Shakespeare’s words a bit.

The fault, dear Palestine, does not lie in Israel, but in yourselves that you are without comfort.

Choosing democracy means all the people of a certain age are responsible. The good, the bad, the ugly. Therefore, when babies are taken as hostages, and some murdered, this ugliness is done in your name. When you, the people, allow such atrocities then you have to take the throwback. Or, get rid of the bullies in your playground.

If Palestine thinks Israel mistreats them, then there are resources for this grievance. And I don’t mean that mass of political whores in the United Nations. Come to think of it, they enable this mess, and the UN doesn’t seem to have the desire to end it. They cannot end it because they must remove politics from the situation.

Hamas is a Marxist, political organization that keeps its own people oppressed. Like all good Marxists, they always blame others. Nothing is ever their fault. Marxism, however, historically, is always about envy.

Palestinians, seemingly, have no choice. That they have no control over their fate. Balderdash. One has to want a better life, to get a better life.

What does history tell us about people who are “oppressed?”

Will Durant, in his book, “The Age of Faith,” which thoroughly covers the Middle Ages, talks about how the serfs could make demands on their masters; by reminding them, in no uncertain terms, the master owed their serfs stability, and consistency. The lady of the manor or castle, took care of the poor, paid the midwife, and distributed alms during the Christmas and Easter seasons. During the pre modern ages, everywhere, it was understood there would be no survival without the community at large.

In the best seller, “The Dawn of Everything, A New History of Humanity,” the authors, Graeber and Wengrow, make the point that hunter-gatherer societies were varied. Some groups were loose, freedom lovers who tolerated the occasional ne'er do well, and some had strong leaders who had the power of life and death over all members of their group. Mostly, there were groups who took care of one another, who contributed to the well being of the group. There were no city-states until well into the 8th millennia, BC. If one felt oppressed, one left the group.

In such small, nomadic groups, it is easy to see that whatever the group decides to do, each individual member has to take responsibility for it. If they waged war, it was done in their name, and of course, they would have to take up arms to defend their position, whether or not they were the aggressors. As is done then, and today, if an army crosses a nation’s borders, the defenders have a duty to defend their country. Aggressors, however, cannot complain when the citizens of the broached nation defends itself. That is why war is a tricky business. A people who would wage war, do so at their own risk.

If the Palestinians cannot get stability and consistency from their leaders, so that they can move forward with their lives, then they must rid themselves of those leaders. Or, continue to suffer the consequences. Because who, in their right mind, sits still whilst their leaders invite war onto their front porch? So the question has to be asked; if you vote for a thug, or tolerate a thug, is that because you are a thug as well?

Unpleasant question, yes. We are overdue on asking the unpleasant questions.

Wars are always reactionary. It is the excuse we give for fighting them. Because some fool or fools made decisions years back, which resulted in people dying. When no one can let go of their hurt and humiliation, and pass it on to future generations, that’s when they turn into “freedom fighters.” By now, in the history of the world, one would think that old, unsuccessful term, would get buried in reality. Because most “freedom fighters” are just a set of thugs that want to be rid of the other side so that they can rule. And the other side wants to be rid of them. We have all seen where that leads. (Read more.)