The 4th of July, though an excellent excuse to party and have fun, does not represent a progressive victory in the history of humanity. In fact, for millions of African slaves and the indigenous people of North America it meant a nightmare scenario in which a genocidal settler population was able to unleash the full force of its expansionary powers without artificial limits imposed by far off London. That said, the American Revolution did have one important thing to contribute to the world: an example of how an old regime could be cast off and a new one born through direct action; an example which would light fires in France, which then lit that all important fire...of the Haitian Revolution, one of the greatest victories for humanity in the collective history of the species. So...as always, history is complicated, and though it is rather naive to pretend that the 4th represents democracy and social justice for all, it is also naive to think that it has no progressive heritage whatsoever. The fires of the real revolution burnt out in the years after the British were expelled, as farmers revolted against bankers and proclaimed themselves free of debts. The day their revolts were put down was the day the progressive strain in the American revolution went dormant...
Posted on: Thu, 04 Jul 2013 11:48:21 +0000
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