-—— I fear a French-style revolution complete with guillotines is what looms ahead for us——
I had similar concerns and hit the books to study the French Revolution in detail. It turns out there were perhaps 4 revolutions within the big revolution. Always present within the Free Republic like disagreement over minor points within the whole was Paris. The people of Paris were a driving force that sort of drug the others along. They all opposed the fact there was nothing to eat and inflation was terrible.
In America, today, the detritus in the cities favor the tyrant. They have no problems with eating because plentiful food is free. And, if there is no job, then after eating the free food, there is sex to produce more food and stuff.
In America, rather than discontent about scarcity, there is discontent over redistribution. The discontent is not however concentrated like it was in Paris. There is no Church to be destroyed as a taxer of resources. There is no critical mass. There is no ongoing war of survival with neighbors.
But most important of all. But shining out as a prime mover there is no philosophical enlightenment, no Voltaire, no Rousseau . There is no leader.
Lastly there was an end in France that was actually a beginning.His name was Napoleon.
With prose style like that, you should write textbooks! Appreciate the ping ...
All too true, but at some point, the whole system will collapse because it is unsustainable. When the system collapses, EVERYONE will be up in arms. And leaders are there, they are just not being heard. Except for talk radio and the very few like Sarah Palin, Rand Paul and Mike Lee.
There will no place for the traitors who think they rule us to hide.