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July 10,
2014: Syracuse, NY. Anti-drone protester Mary Anne Grady was sent to county jail
for a maximum 12 month sentence for violating a temporary "Order of Protection"
granted by a County Judge to explicitly to protect the Commander Evans of
Hancock Air Force Base, who said he wanted to keep protesters "out of his
driveway."
Democracy
Now covered the sentencing; watch now. 
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
 |
First, as a brief refresher: Earlier this year, we got connected
with Catapult, the World Wide Web's premier crowdfunding site for women's
rights, curated by the likes of everyone from Beyónce Knowles to John Legend.
Big names aside -- at its core, this tool draws on the power of many people
coming together to affect change, much like the rest of the movement for Fair
Food. Earlier this summer, we launched the "Ensure dignity and respect for
farmworkers" project, an effort to raise $25,000 in 5 months to support a
new staff member at the Fair Food Standards Council, the essential third-party
monitoring body of the Fair Food Program.
Among the many changes taking place in Florida's fields under the
Fair Food Program, few are so transformative as the power women farmworkers now
have to end sexual violence -- to denounce harassmenet when it occurs, to have
their report be swiftly and thoroughly investigated, and to watch the offender
face losing his job. The Fair Food Standards Council plays a crucial role in
every step of that process, and as we look ahead to expanding the Program, we
will need all hands on deck to bring an end to sexual violence in Florida
tomatoes and beyond.
This month, we have a real opportunity to make the project take off:
it's being featured on Catapult's front page! If you haven't had a chance to
take a look at the project yet, make sure to head over to Catapult and join the dozens
of other members of the Fair Food Nation who have become supporters. There are
many ways to support the Catapult project. To name a few:
|
Defend The Palestinian People! No U.S.
Aid To Israel
STAND WITH GAZA
RALLY AND DIE-IN
SATURDAY, JULY 19, 1:00 PM
PARK ST. STATION
As the U.S.-made bombs fall on Gaza, indiscriminately killing
Palestinians, many of them children, we heed the
Urgent call from Gaza civil society: Act
now!
We
Palestinians trapped inside the bloodied and besieged Gaza Strip call on
conscientious people all over the world to act, protest and intensify the
boycotts, divestments and sanctions against Israel until it ends this murderous
attack on our people and is held to account.
Join us as we mourn the hundreds killed and protest the
complicity of the U.S. government that spends over three billion of our tax
dollars and advanced military weapons annually to Israel to maintain an illegal
and immoral system of discrimination and occupation and the calamitous siege of
Gaza.
We call for:
An End to the Bombings and
Killings
An End to U.S. aid to
Israel
Support for the Palestinian call
for BDS
*In The Time Of The French Revolution- "La Marseillaise"-In Honor Of The 225th Anniversary Of The French Revolution
La Marseillaise
Allons enfants de la patrie,
Le jour de gloire est arrivé
Contre nous de la tyrannie
L'étendard sanglant est levé
Entendez vous dans les campagnes,
Mugir ces féroces soldats?
Ils viennent jusque dans nos bras
Egorger nos fils, nos compagnes!
Refrain
Aux armes, citoyens!
Formez vos bataillons!
Marchons! Marchons!
Qu'un sang impur
Abreuve nos sillons!
Amour sacré de la patrie,
Conduis, soutiens nos bras vengeurs!
Liberté, Liberté cherie,
Combats avec tes defenseurs!
Sous nos drapeaux, que la victoire
Accoure à tes males accents!
Que tes ennemis expirants
Voient ton triomphe et notre gloire!
Refrain
Nous entrerons dans la carrière
Quand nos ainés n'y seront plus;
Nous y trouverons leur poussière
Et la trace de leurs vertus.
Bien moins jaloux de leur survivre
Que de partager leur cercueil,
Nous aurons le sublime orgueil
De les venger ou de les suivre!
Refrain
La Marseillaise
Allons enfants de la patrie,
Le jour de gloire est arrivé
Contre nous de la tyrannie
L'étendard sanglant est levé
Entendez vous dans les campagnes,
Mugir ces féroces soldats?
Ils viennent jusque dans nos bras
Egorger nos fils, nos compagnes!
Refrain
Aux armes, citoyens!
Formez vos bataillons!
Marchons! Marchons!
Qu'un sang impur
Abreuve nos sillons!
Amour sacré de la patrie,
Conduis, soutiens nos bras vengeurs!
Liberté, Liberté cherie,
Combats avec tes defenseurs!
Sous nos drapeaux, que la victoire
Accoure à tes males accents!
Que tes ennemis expirants
Voient ton triomphe et notre gloire!
Refrain
Nous entrerons dans la carrière
Quand nos ainés n'y seront plus;
Nous y trouverons leur poussière
Et la trace de leurs vertus.
Bien moins jaloux de leur survivre
Que de partager leur cercueil,
Nous aurons le sublime orgueil
De les venger ou de les suivre!
Refrain
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
|
Defend The Palestinian People! No U.S. Aid To Israel
IMPORTANT - STAND WITH GAZA ACTIONS
Spread the word. Come and be visible.
|
at 5:00pm - 6:30pm in EDT
| |
|
Copley Sq, Boston, Massachusetts 02116
|
Stop the Israeli assault on Gaza launched on July 8.
End the Israeli blockade on Gaza ongoing since 2007.
End American support and assistance for Israeli crimes.
Join together in Copley Square to speak out about the injustice in Palestine!
Bring your own signs for the rally and we will have candles for the vigil.
End the Israeli blockade on Gaza ongoing since 2007.
End American support and assistance for Israeli crimes.
Join together in Copley Square to speak out about the injustice in Palestine!
Bring your own signs for the rally and we will have candles for the vigil.
|
at 5:30pm in EDT
| |
Copley Sq, Boston, Massachusetts 02116
|
As Israel's relentless bombardment of Gaza enters its second week, join with thousands across the world in demanding an end to Israel's collective punishment of Palestinians.
Take to the streets to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and to demand an end to U.S. aid to Israel, an end to the siege of Gaza, and an end to the occupation.
#Boston4Gaza
Take to the streets to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and to demand an end to U.S. aid to Israel, an end to the siege of Gaza, and an end to the occupation.
#Boston4Gaza
Liza Behrendt
Organizer, Jewish Voice for Peace - Boston
603-397-2412, liza@jvp-boston.org
Saturday, July 19, 1 PM, Park St., Rally. More details to follow.
Marilyn Levin
United for Justice with Peace
781-316-2018
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "BostonUNAC" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bostonunac+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Defend The Palestinian People! No U.S.
Aid To Israel
IMPORTANT -
STAND WITH GAZA ACTIONS
Spread
the word. Come and be visible.
|
at 5:00pm - 6:30pm in
EDT
| |
|
Copley Sq, Boston,
Massachusetts 02116
|
Stop the Israeli assault on
Gaza launched on July 8.
End the Israeli blockade on Gaza ongoing since 2007.
End American support and assistance for Israeli crimes.
Join together in Copley Square to speak out about the injustice in Palestine!
Bring your own signs for the rally and we will have candles for the vigil.
End the Israeli blockade on Gaza ongoing since 2007.
End American support and assistance for Israeli crimes.
Join together in Copley Square to speak out about the injustice in Palestine!
Bring your own signs for the rally and we will have candles for the vigil.
|
at 5:30pm in
EDT
| |
|
Copley Sq, Boston,
Massachusetts 02116
|
As Israel's relentless
bombardment of Gaza enters its second week, join with thousands across the world
in demanding an end to Israel's collective punishment of
Palestinians.
Take to the streets to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and to demand an end to U.S. aid to Israel, an end to the siege of Gaza, and an end to the occupation.
#Boston4Gaza
Take to the streets to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and to demand an end to U.S. aid to Israel, an end to the siege of Gaza, and an end to the occupation.
#Boston4Gaza
Liza Behrendt
Organizer, Jewish Voice for Peace - Boston
603-397-2412, liza@jvp-boston.org
Saturday,
July 19, 1 PM, Park St., Rally. More details to
follow.
Marilyn
Levin
United for Justice
with Peace
781-316-2018
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "BostonUNAC" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bostonunac+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
|
|
You can
run, but you can’t hide from Fair Food! Part II… Rabbinic delegation visits Wendy’s Chairman Nelson Peltz at his Wall St. office, demands answers on human rights and the Fair Food Program…  Today we bring you a report from a recent visit by a delegation of rabbis and rabbinical students to the Manhattan offices of Trian Partners, the “activist investment firm” run by Mr. Nelson Peltz and his partner Peter May. Trian is Wendy’s largest shareholder, and Mr. Peltz is the Chairman of Wendy’s board of directors, while Mr. May serves as Vice Chairman (you may remember Mr. Peltz from his brief exchange with the CIW’s Gerardo Reyes at the Wendy’s shareholder meeting back in May). The delegation chose to visit Trian last week because Mr. Peltz has been ignoring their repeated requests for a meeting to discuss Wendy’s apparent disregard for human rights. The rabbis have been nothing if not persistent. First, 36 rabbis from across the country — all of whom have themselves visited Immokalee to see firsthand the unprecedented changes taking place in the fields — sent a private letter to Mr. Peltz, requesting a meeting. After waiting for weeks in vain for a response, they published their letter to Mr. Peltz on Human Rights Shabbat in early December, and rabbis around the country led rousing public actions in 15 cities to mark the occasion. This past month, the rabbis re-published the letter yet again, and shortly thereafter finally received their first reply — a rote recitation of Wendy’s public relations pretexts for refusing to join the Fair Food Program. The letter concluded with a rejection of the rabbis’ call for a meeting with CIW. Far from deterred, over a dozen rabbis, rabbinic students, and supporters headed over to Trian Partners to demand a meeting with Mr. Peltz in person. After arriving at the towering skyscraper that houses Trian Partners — a building replete with all the trappings of Wall St. wealth and power — the determined delegation headed up to the 41st floor…  |
Defend The Palestinian People! No U.S.
Aid To Israel
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After Palestinian Unity Deal, Did Israel Spark Violence to Prevent a New "Peace Offensive"?"Whenever the Palestinians seem like they are trying to reach a settlement of the conflict — which the [Fatah-Hamas] unity government was — at that point Israel does everything it can to provoke a violent reaction"partial, rushed transcript: We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Mouin Rabbani, we’re speaking to you over at The Hague. Can you respond to this latest news of the Egyptian ceasefire, Israel accepting and Hamas weighing this? MOUIN RABBANI: Well, I think Amira explained it quite well. So far as we can tell, Hamas has been neither directly nor indirectly consulted on a proposal that basically the Egyptians have concocted together with Tony Blair and the Israelis and some other parties, the purpose of which appears to be something that Hamas cannot accept and that can then be used to legitimize an intensification of the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip.
The problem for Hamas is twofold. On the one hand, as
Amira explained, it basically restores an acceptable status quo, while, on the
other hand, it has been endorsed by the Arab League, by the PA in Ramallah, by
most of the Western powers and so on. So it will be difficult for them to either
accept or reject it, so to speak, while at the same time I think the parties
that are proposing this ceasefire are making it clear that they’re not really
interested in any further negotiation of its terms.
AARON MATÉ:
Norman Finkelstein, give us a sketch of the broader context for how this latest
flare-up began.
NORMAN FINKELSTEIN: Well, before I do, I’m going to just
briefly comment on the ceasefire. The ceasefire, first of all, says
nothing about the rampages by Israel against Hamas in the West Bank. And it was
those rampages which caused the current conflict to escalate. It gives Israel
a green light to continue arresting Hamas members, blowing up homes in the West
Bank, ransacking homes and killing Palestinians, which was the prelude to
the current fighting.
Secondly, if you look at the ceasefire, it’s exactly
what was agreed on in June—excuse me, June 2008 and the same ceasefire that
was agreed to in November 2012. Namely, in both cases, it was said that there
would be a relaxing of the illegal blockade of Gaza. In both cases, after the
ceasefire was signed, the blockade was maintained, and in fact the blockade was
escalated. So now, in the current version of the ceasefire, it said the blockade
will be lifted after there has been calm restored and the security situation has
been established. But if Israel says Hamas is a terrorist organization, then the
security situation can never be calm in the Gaza, and therefore there will be
never a lifting of the blockade of Gaza. So we’re right back to where we were in
June 2008, November 2012. Of course Hamas is going to reject that kind of
agreement. It means it legalizes, it legitimizes the brutal, merciless,
heartless, illegal blockade of Gaza.
As to how we got to where we are, the general context is
perfectly obvious for anyone who wants to see it. A unity government was formed
between the PA and Hamas. Netanyahu was enraged at this unity government. It
called on the U.S., it called on the EU, to break relations with the Palestinian
Authority. Surprisingly, the United States said, "No, we’re going to give this
unity government time. We’ll see whether it works or not." Then the EU came in
and said it will also give the unity government time. "Let’s see. Let’s see what
happens."
This is what Israel always does. Anybody who knows
the history, it’s what the Israeli political scientist, the mainstream
political scientist—name was Avner Yaniv—he said it’s these Palestinian "peace
offensives." Whenever the Palestinians seem like they are trying to reach a
settlement of the conflict, which the unity government was, at that point Israel
does everything it can to provoke a violent reaction—in this case, from
Hamas—break up the unity government, and Israel has its pretext. "We can’t
negotiate with the Palestinian Authority because they only represent some of the
Palestinian people; they don’t represent all of the Palestinian people." And so
Netanyahu does what he always does—excuse me, what Israeli governments always
do: You keep pounding the Palestinians, in this case pounding Hamas, pounding
Hamas, trying to evoke a reaction, and when the reaction comes—well, when the
reaction comes, he said, "We can’t deal with these people. They’re
terrorists."
AMY GOODMAN: Norman Finkelstein, why do you think Israel
has hesitated to launch the invasion? Their, you know, thousands of soldiers are
lined up along the Gaza border.
NORMAN FINKELSTEIN: Well, it’s interesting, because all
the—there are a large number of theories that are being spun, in particular in
the Israeli press. The answer, I think, to that question is pretty obvious. The
Israeli domestic population won’t tolerate a large number of Israeli combatant
casualties. That’s out. Israel likes to fight—not unlike President Obama, Israel
likes to fight high-tech—likes to commit high-tech massacres, and it doesn’t
want to fight a real war. And in 2008, Israel carried out, executed the big
high-tech massacre in Gaza, killed about 1,400 Palestinians, up to 1,200 of whom
were civilians, left behind 600,000 tons of rubble, dropped the white phosphorus
and so forth. And for the first time, the international community reacted very
harshly to it. The climax, of course, was the Goldstone Report.
And at that point, Israel was placed in a very difficult
position, because on the one hand, it can’t stop the rocket attacks unless it
conducts a ground invasion, which is exactly the situation it faced in Lebanon
in 2006 also. The air force can’t knock out these rockets. They’re short-range
rockets, mostly. They’re not even rockets, but we’ll call them that. The air
force can’t knock them out. The only way to get rid of them—exactly as in
Lebanon in 2006, the only way to get rid of them is by launching a ground
invasion. However, the domestic population won’t accept a large number of
casualties. And the only way you don’t have a large number of casualties is if
you blast everything in sight within a mile’s radius, which is what Israel did
in 2008, '09. There were only 10 Israeli military casualties; of those 10, half
of them were friendly fire, Israelis accidentally killing Israelis. But after
the Goldstone Report and after 2008, ’09, they can't do that again. They can’t
carry out that kind of massive destruction, the 22 days of death and
destruction, as Amnesty International called it. They can’t do that again. A new
constraint has been placed on Israel’s political and military echelon.
So, that’s the dilemma for them. Domestically, they
can’t tolerate large numbers of combatant casualties, but the only way to
prevent that is blasting everything in sight. The international community says
you can’t do that. You kill 150, even kill 200, Human Rights Watch said killing
200 Palestinians in Gaza, that’s not a war crime, they said. That’s just
collective punishment. Only Hamas commits war crimes, because one woman
apparently died of a heart attack while—Israeli woman apparently died of a heart
attack while trying to enter a shelter, so that’s horrible, awful: That’s a war
crime. But when you kill 200 Palestinians, 80 percent of whom are civilians,
about 20 percent of whom are children, according to Human Rights Watch, that’s
not a war crime. But the international community will accept that much, 200. But
even Human Rights Watch won’t accept if you go in and you do 2008, '09, again.
And so, the Israeli government is faced with a real dilemma. And that's the
problem for Netanyahu. Domestically, he loses if there are large number of
casualties, combatant casualties; internationally, he loses if he tries to do
2008, ’09, all over again.
AMY GOODMAN: Which resulted in how many deaths?
NORMAN FINKELSTEIN: 2008, '09, as I said, was about 1,400,
of whom about up to 1,200 were civilians, I say 600,000 tons of rubble. They
just left nothing there. And by the way, that was demanded by Tzipi Livni. On
June 8th—excuse me, on January 18th, Tzipi Livni, the foreign minister then, the
justice minister now, the person who's called a moderate by J Street, Tzipi
Livni boasted—she went on TV and boasted, "We demanded hooliganism in Gaza.
That’s what I demanded," she said, "and we got it." According to J Street, she’s
the moderate.
|
Veterans For Peace-Cambridge
Midnight Voices
(the young dead soldiers do not speak, they have a silence that speaks for them at night when the clock counts)
Calling all poets, slammers, word smiths, lyricists, rappers, misfits, musicians and anyone who has the gift of gab! We are hosting Midnight Voices, a monthly collaborative coffeehouse, spoken word, and open mic series 3rd Thursdays at Cambridge Friends Meeting at 7pm. This third Thursday 17 July, we are featuring David Rothauser, he will be bringing an excerpt from his most recent play. Open mic performances will follow.
We are actively seeking co-sponsors and talent to be featured readers in upcoming months. If you have any ideas about this or want any other information please contact Eric Wasileski Ericwasileski@gmail.com
Warrior Writers Boston and the Smedley Butler Brigade, Veteran-Friends in conjunction with the FMC Peace and Social Concerns committee are hosting. These events are open to everyone; next month on August 21 @7pm we will be having Caleb Nelson as the featured reader.
We are actively seeking co-sponsors and talent to be featured readers in upcoming months. If you have any ideas about this or want any other information please contact Eric Wasileski Ericwasileski@gmail.com
Warrior Writers Boston and the Smedley Butler Brigade, Veteran-Friends in conjunction with the FMC Peace and Social Concerns committee are hosting. These events are open to everyone; next month on August 21 @7pm we will be having Caleb Nelson as the featured reader.
IN THE TIME OF THE RISE AND DECLINE OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION - In Honor Of The 225th Anniversary
REMEMBER THE BASTILLE, BUT HONOR ROBESPIERRE AND SAINT-JUST.
BOOK REVIEW
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION-FROM ITS ORIGINS TO 1793, VOLUME 1; FROM 1793-1799, VOLUME 2, GEORGES LEFEBVRE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS,
NEW YORK, 1962, 1964
This year marks the 225th anniversary of the beginning of the Great French Revolution with storming of the Bastille on July 14th. An old Chinese Communist leader, the late Zhou En Lai, was once asked by a reporter to sum up the important lessons of the French Revolution. In reply he answered that it was too early to tell what those lessons might be. Whether that particular story is true or not it does contain one important truth. Militants today at the beginning of the 21st century can still profit from reading the history of that revolution.
Professor Lefebvre’s two volume account of that revolution is still a good place to start. Although scholarship on various aspects of the French Revolution has mushroomed since his books first appeared, especially around the time of the 200th anniversary of the revolution, most of that work has been very specialized. After over 40 years these volumes still set the standard for a general overview of the convulsions of French and European society before the rise of the Napoleonic period.
The French Revolution, like its predecessor the American Revolution, is covered with so much banal ceremony, flag- waving, unthinking sunshine patriotism and hubris it is hard to see the forest for the trees. The Bastille action while symbolically interesting is not where the real action took place nor was it politically the most significant event. For militants that comes much later with the rise of the revolutionary tribunals and the Committee of Public Safety under the leadership of the left Jacobins Robespierre and Saint Just. Their overthrow in 1794 by more moderate members of their own party, in what is known as the Thermidorian reaction, stopped the forward progression of the revolution although it did not return it back to the old feudal society. The forces unleashed by the revolution, especially among the land hungry peasantry, made that virtually impossible. In short, as has happened before in revolutionary history, the people and programs which supported the forward advancement of the revolution ran out of steam. The careerists, opportunists and those previously standing on the sidelines took control until they too ran out of steam. Not for the first or last time, the precarious balance of the different forces in society clashed and called out for a strongman. Napoleon was more than willing to be obliging when that time came.
The values of the Enlightenment- the believe that human beings can more or less rationally order the way they organize society in the interest of social justice and human dignity- are under extreme attack today. These Enlightenment values are reflected in the successes and failures of the French revolution. So what can militants of the 21st century gather from those tumultuous experiences as we try to extend the gains of that revolution and defend Enlightenment values against the ‘bully boys and girls’ of this world? The most obvious is that the very fact of the French revolution changed the whole nature of political discourse by the creation of a civil society. Today, that task may seem of little importance. However, at the time the vast majority of the population was treated by the old regime as a brute, silent herd. And was suppose to like it, to boot! Seem familiar.
The French Revolution also highlights the need to defend the revolution against both active internal counterrevolutionary elements of the old regime and foreign powers opposed to the new order, the new way of doing business in society. This necessity had also occurred previously in the English revolution where continental powers allied with segments of the old royal establishment tried to use Ireland and Scotland as bases to return the Stuarts to power. Later, in the Russian revolution that same phenomenon occurred with the White Guards and a seemingly world-wide array of hostile powers. In short, the old order will not give up without a fight. We should have that lesson etched in our brains.
Probably the greatest service that Professor Lefebvre provides in his volumes is to encourage an understanding of the relationship of revolutionary and counterrevolutionary forces. That is, the policies of the various post-1989 governments in reaction to the various forces in Europe, particularly but not exclusively the British, that most certainly were trying overthrow the revolution and either return to the previous status quo or make France a subordinate client state. In fact, this writer argues that one cannot understand French domestic governmental policy in this period without an understanding of that interconnectedness. The various revolutionary governmental forms, culminating with the Committee of Public Safety under Robespierre, were increasingly charged with defense of the revolution by putting France on a multi-front war footing. That meant both raising troops, one way or another, and assuring the support of the sans-culottes and small peasant landowners by appropriate measures. Whether, those governments did that well or poorly is up to the reader to decide. In any case, thanks, Professor Lefebvre.
REMEMBER THE BASTILLE, BUT HONOR ROBESPIERRE AND SAINT-JUST.
BOOK REVIEW
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION-FROM ITS ORIGINS TO 1793, VOLUME 1; FROM 1793-1799, VOLUME 2, GEORGES LEFEBVRE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS,
NEW YORK, 1962, 1964
This year marks the 225th anniversary of the beginning of the Great French Revolution with storming of the Bastille on July 14th. An old Chinese Communist leader, the late Zhou En Lai, was once asked by a reporter to sum up the important lessons of the French Revolution. In reply he answered that it was too early to tell what those lessons might be. Whether that particular story is true or not it does contain one important truth. Militants today at the beginning of the 21st century can still profit from reading the history of that revolution.
Professor Lefebvre’s two volume account of that revolution is still a good place to start. Although scholarship on various aspects of the French Revolution has mushroomed since his books first appeared, especially around the time of the 200th anniversary of the revolution, most of that work has been very specialized. After over 40 years these volumes still set the standard for a general overview of the convulsions of French and European society before the rise of the Napoleonic period.
The French Revolution, like its predecessor the American Revolution, is covered with so much banal ceremony, flag- waving, unthinking sunshine patriotism and hubris it is hard to see the forest for the trees. The Bastille action while symbolically interesting is not where the real action took place nor was it politically the most significant event. For militants that comes much later with the rise of the revolutionary tribunals and the Committee of Public Safety under the leadership of the left Jacobins Robespierre and Saint Just. Their overthrow in 1794 by more moderate members of their own party, in what is known as the Thermidorian reaction, stopped the forward progression of the revolution although it did not return it back to the old feudal society. The forces unleashed by the revolution, especially among the land hungry peasantry, made that virtually impossible. In short, as has happened before in revolutionary history, the people and programs which supported the forward advancement of the revolution ran out of steam. The careerists, opportunists and those previously standing on the sidelines took control until they too ran out of steam. Not for the first or last time, the precarious balance of the different forces in society clashed and called out for a strongman. Napoleon was more than willing to be obliging when that time came.
The values of the Enlightenment- the believe that human beings can more or less rationally order the way they organize society in the interest of social justice and human dignity- are under extreme attack today. These Enlightenment values are reflected in the successes and failures of the French revolution. So what can militants of the 21st century gather from those tumultuous experiences as we try to extend the gains of that revolution and defend Enlightenment values against the ‘bully boys and girls’ of this world? The most obvious is that the very fact of the French revolution changed the whole nature of political discourse by the creation of a civil society. Today, that task may seem of little importance. However, at the time the vast majority of the population was treated by the old regime as a brute, silent herd. And was suppose to like it, to boot! Seem familiar.
The French Revolution also highlights the need to defend the revolution against both active internal counterrevolutionary elements of the old regime and foreign powers opposed to the new order, the new way of doing business in society. This necessity had also occurred previously in the English revolution where continental powers allied with segments of the old royal establishment tried to use Ireland and Scotland as bases to return the Stuarts to power. Later, in the Russian revolution that same phenomenon occurred with the White Guards and a seemingly world-wide array of hostile powers. In short, the old order will not give up without a fight. We should have that lesson etched in our brains.
Probably the greatest service that Professor Lefebvre provides in his volumes is to encourage an understanding of the relationship of revolutionary and counterrevolutionary forces. That is, the policies of the various post-1989 governments in reaction to the various forces in Europe, particularly but not exclusively the British, that most certainly were trying overthrow the revolution and either return to the previous status quo or make France a subordinate client state. In fact, this writer argues that one cannot understand French domestic governmental policy in this period without an understanding of that interconnectedness. The various revolutionary governmental forms, culminating with the Committee of Public Safety under Robespierre, were increasingly charged with defense of the revolution by putting France on a multi-front war footing. That meant both raising troops, one way or another, and assuring the support of the sans-culottes and small peasant landowners by appropriate measures. Whether, those governments did that well or poorly is up to the reader to decide. In any case, thanks, Professor Lefebvre.
Defend The Palestinian People! No U.S. Aid To Israel!
United for Justice with Peace, in consultation with Jewish Voice for Peace and the Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights and others, is calling for an emergency organizing meeting of a broad spectrum of peace, social justice, and Palestine solidarity groups to plan large/united protest actions in Boston in solidarity with the Palestinian people as long as the current brutal onslaught against the Palestinians in Gaza continues.
Please send representatives from your group to this action planning meeting – to build a united series of actions, starting with a large mobilization at Park St. Please let others know.
TUESDAY, JULY 15, 7:00 pm, American Friends Service Committee, 2161 Mass. Ave., Cambridge.
Marilyn Levin
781-316-2018
On behalf of UJP and the
Palestine Task Force
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