America and France

It is tempting and easy to want to parallel France and America.  Both fought revolutions around the same time to throw off what they viewed as monarchical tyranny.  But the revolutions were quite different in character and the outcomes even more different.  I have seen far too many opinions in the last 48 hours trying to draw parallels for America in the unrest (to say the least) that was visited upon France over the weekend.  That is a mistake.

Less than a month ago, I borrowed from Jonathon Turley’s observations about the essential differences between the American and French revolutions.  Turley pointed out that the American revolution borrowed heavily from Locke and the notion that rights were established by the Almighty, while the French revolution was rooted in Rousseau and the notion of a sort of mob rule.  Pretty fundamental difference that and France remains a largely secular nation in comparison to America.  Given how fundamental that difference is, I don’t think parallels are the way to go.  But that does not mean we should not be looking at what is going on in France and trying to learn from it.  I just wish I could figure out what is really going on.

Is it students and young people protesting a system that does not serve them well?  Is it a Muslim takeover?  Is it a civil war of some sort?  Is it just poor leadership and a misunderstanding of what is effective to create change?  Chances are good is it all of the above and then some.  This pithy take is one truth in the mess that I think is undeniable.  The more you give people the more they expect to be given and the uglier they get when it is not.  And that observation goes a long way to showing the difference God makes in these matters.  (Think about it for a while – you’ll get it.)

I have been thinking about this for a while and especially looking for comparisons to the George Floyd riots that spread across the nation during the covid related lockdowns.  But I don’t think there are any.  The Floyd riots were energized more by the pent up energy created by the lockdowns than by the triggering events proper.  If it had not been the death of George Floyd, it would have been something else.  People were unhappy with the lockdowns and needed an excuse.  There is no comparison.

If there is a common factor between France and America right now, it is confused young people.  Consider:

Four in 10 college students believe offensive speech should be subject to criminal prosecution, according to the results of a nationwide survey published this month by the Buckley Institute….

The survey also found 46 percent of college students agree it is sometimes appropriate to shout down or disrupt a speaker on campus, while 47 percent disagree.

Another 45 percent agreed physical violence can be justified to prevent a person from using hate speech or making racially charged comments, while 50 percent disagreed.

Well, so much for “Sticks and stones….”  If there is a problem in the offing for America, there it is – justifying violence based merely on calling someone a name.

France is a mess.  The United States is getting messier by the minute.  But they are not the same mess.  Furthermore, France has been a mess for centuries and is not really interested in cleaning up.  Our mess is relatively new.  The real question is, “Are we interested in cleaning it up?”