Stephanie Dyson

2/10/14
World History
C-Band


FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
- What different things cause revolutions? - Why don't they happen more often?
- What different things determine the success or failure of revolutions?
- In your opinion, what are the best strategies for revolutionary change?


Through talking about and dissecting the different, foundational parts of the French
Revolution, I noticed many different things procure revolutions and insight change other than
the oppression that those with the least power faced. Through the words of my own character
and the French bourgeoisie, I not only heard status, but I noticed a nonchalant-ness about the
changes happening around them. The Duchess of Tourzel was very enraptured in retaining her
status, as if the notion of her being anything less than nobility was not only absurd, but
unrealistic. Thusly, it was something she could not comprehend.
I think that its not just the combination of outrage and indignance that is created from
the pathos of the oppressed, but the blatant show of apathy and insensitivity amongst those
that the revolution is against. The combating of the emotions that are completely opposite are
not only things that insight revolutions, but theyre things that prolong them. Therefore, I
think revolutions fail when there is only the zealous push-back from the oppressed. In the
eyes of their oppressor, their passion is not only useless- its almost cute.
Zeal, when combatting absolute apathy, is one of the gateway drugs to the harder
emotions: Greed, lust, envy, and genuine malevolence, and thats exactly what happened
during the French Revolution. People saw that in order for there to be a change, someone
needed to step up in their passion and lead the way. However, the people that had stepped up
with their fervor on their sleeves turned into mass murderers, lusting after the complete
decimation of the monarchy and envious for the power that had, at one point, never been
afforded to them. They chased after liberty as if it were something to be saved from captivity,
or something being held for ransom. They ran after justice as if it were something that would
disappear with time. This race against the clock, this idea of We want it now! being carried
through with immense bloodshed is something that embodies the decline of a revolution.
Revolutions must happen with urgency, but without haste. They must happen effectively, but
rationally. When weapons and rebel yells come into play, that is when people lose their
judgment. That is when people lose sight of the original goal. Granted, it may do the job,, but it
doesnt always harbor a sense of calm and security, a true sense of The End, when all is said
and done.