Posted on 07/17/2024 8:07:11 AM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
The strength of the American Revolution was its respect for the past and its privileging of legal precedent and the rights of Englishman over any ideologies. The same rights they claimed were guaranteed in the royal charters and documents of incorporation that each colony created at their inception. Before some of the charters were signed in America and after others, the English Bill of Rights of 1689 restated the common law rights of Englishmen. Yet, that document isn’t the origin of the rights fought for by British Americans. The Petition of Right of 1628 reaffirmed the controls upon the royal prerogatives at an even earlier date.
In 1399 Richard II of England was forced to abdicate due to his tyrannical usurpation of the rights of Englishmen and his misgovernment of the realm. Before that, the famous Magna Charta was forced upon King John to ensure that he upheld the rights guaranteed by his great-grand-father Henry I. So why all the history? Because it’s only through the lens of British history that the American Revolution, its success and lasting influence, can be understood.
Virtually every attempt of mankind to radically break with the past and establish a new regime based on faulty worldviews and disrespect for historical precedent has failed as badly as the French Revolution. We remember these attempts with names like “the terror,” “the killing fields of Kampuchea,” “Great Leap Forward,” and the “Five Year Plan.” While there are radical variations in the contexts of these events, a similar thread traces through this tapestry of tragedy: man sees his existence apart from God, his family, and society. Also, he divines the just arrangement of society from his reason alone.
The genius of the American Revolution was that it was more truly a restoration than a rebellion…
(Excerpt) Read more at isi.org ...
I have said for decades that the American Revolution is the only one that succeeded in bettering the society, but it was because our revolution wasn’t a revolution but a Reformation. Like Luther trying to bring the Western church back to its Scriptural roots, the Patriots were trying to bring Britain back to its roots of support for negative human rights. Just as with Luther, the only way this could be accomplished was by declaring independence and doing it ourselves. We will need a second American Reformation, to remove the desire for positive rights in the population and tear down the socialist infrastructure that feeds the elite and impoverishes the masses both economically and morally.
Great essay. Worth clicking on, for sure. Thanks for posting.
Isn’t it? You’re welcome!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
