Tea at Trianon: A Nation Reclaims Its Identity

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

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

A Nation Reclaims Its Identity

From The Vigilant Fox:

On Monday, President Donald Trump led the 157th National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery, joined by Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The ceremony began with a powerful moment of silence as the three leaders laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, honoring those who gave their lives for freedom.
With the national anthem and TAPS echoing across the cemetery, they stood saluting in solemn tribute. Trump then delivered a speech praising fallen service members as “America’s best and bravest,” setting a tone of reverence, strength, and renewed national purpose.
Then came the words that gave weight to the moment. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stepped up to the mic and didn’t bother with formalities. His message cut straight to the heart of the day: freedom isn’t free, and it’s only preserved through strength.
“We owe a duty to those who have fallen in war,” Hegseth said. “They have paid a debt we can never repay.”
“The duty we owe these men is peace, which only can be achieved through strength,” he added. “Because we strive for peace, we must prepare for war.”
Hegseth made it clear that peace isn’t something we can take for granted. It’s fragile. And unless we’re willing to protect it, we risk losing everything those men died for.
“We owe these men nothing less—our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”
He closed by pointing to the headstones around him, a silent army of heroes, and challenged Americans to live lives worthy of their sacrifice.
“We stand on the shoulders of great men—and on the shoulders of those great men in those graves. May we live worthy of it.” (Read more.)