“I do not say that democracy has been more pernicious on the whole, and in the long run, than monarchy or aristocracy. Democracy has never been and never can be so durable as aristocracy or monarchy; but while it lasts, it is more bloody than either. … Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. It is in vain to say that democracy is less vain, less proud, less selfish, less ambitious, or less avaricious than aristocracy or monarchy. It is not true, in fact, and nowhere appears in history. Those passions are the same in all men, under all forms of simple government, and when unchecked, produce the same effects of fraud, violence, and cruelty. When clear prospects are opened before vanity, pride, avarice, or ambition, for their easy gratification, it is hard for the most considerate philosophers and the most conscientious moralists to resist the temptation.” - John Adams
“A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.” - John Adams
By Jim Quinn - May 9, 2023
I have bookshelves filled with books I haven’t read yet. I’m a collector of books who doesn’t have much time to read but plans to spend my waning years catching up on all the reading I’ve been unable to do while working, blogging, and raising a family. Still, I always have one or two books on my nightstand being read in fits and starts. After finishing a Grisham novel, I sought another book to occupy my time from my living room bookshelf. I grabbed Rise to Rebellion, a Jeff Shaara historical novel I had purchased at a used bookstore in Wildwood, NJ many years ago.
I don’t know why I chose that book from the dozens of options on the bookshelf, but it seems to have been a wise choice given the current state of affairs in the world. I always find the wisdom and courage of our founding fathers to be a beacon of light in the darkness slowly engulfing the world as we approach the denouement of this Fourth Turning, the fourth, and hopefully not last, in U.S. history. Probably without knowing it, most of Shaara’s historical novels revolved around events during the first three Fourth Turnings.
It started with his father Michael Shaara’s brilliant 1973 Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Killer Angels, and Jeff’s bookend novels Gods and Generals (1996) and The Last Full Measure (1998) to complete the trilogy. They captured the essence of the Civil War Fourth Turning. Then he captured the spirit of the American Revolution Fourth Turning with Rise to Rebellion and The Glorious Cause. And then he attacked the World War II Fourth Turning with his four-part series: The Rising Tide, The Steel Wave, No Less Than Victory, and The Final Storm. The novels documenting the glorious victories, tragic losses, heroes, and villains of this Fourth Turning are yet to be written. What will be written depends upon the actions we take or don’t take during the remaining five or so years of this period of Crisis.
You never know how or when your words or actions will have an impact, but if you remain resolute and true to yourself, maybe even after death your words can provide inspiration for future generations. Michael Shaara’s The Killer Angels was rejected by 15 publishers, received mixed reviews, and even after winning a Pulitzer Prize was still a commercial failure. He died in 1988, a broken man, dismayed his novel never received the notice it deserved.
Five years after his death his book was adapted into the epic film Gettysburg, and his novel was propelled to number one on the NYT bestsellers list, 19 years after its publication. Jeff had been a coin dealer, but after the success of the movie and novel he was approached to continue the story, his father had started, despite no background in writing. He took up the challenge and has had a prodigious career bringing history to life for millions of readers. You never know when life will offer opportunity or thrust you into a cataclysm.
What struck me as I read Rise to Rebellion, capturing the time period from the Boston Massacre in 1770 to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, told through the eyes of John Adams, Ben Franklin, George Washington, and British General Thomas Gage, was the extremely long odds of farmers, merchants, shop owners and tradesmen successfully defeating the greatest empire in history and their professional army. The chances of these undisciplined, underfunded, under armed militiamen, led by George Washington and a few professional officers, of winning their independence from an imperial empire and an army and navy unmatched on earth was virtually nil.
It’s the kind of perspective valuable at this juncture of a Fourth Turning, rapidly accelerating towards conflict against a seemingly invincible arrogant Deep State imperial empire. The odds are heavily against those who have refused to knuckle under during the covid scam and continue to oppose the government’s efforts to disarm us and destroy the moral fabric of the nation.
From their writings and correspondence at the time, utilized by Shaara in his novel, you realize Adams, Franklin, and Washington were all reluctant revolutionaries. Firebrands like Sam Adams and Patrick Henry had no doubts about going to war. Adams and Franklin did everything in their power to defuse the brewing conflict over many years. Adams even defended the British soldiers accused of murder during the Boston Massacre and got them acquitted by an American jury. Franklin spent years in London trying to negotiate on behalf of the colonies, while constantly being ridiculed, scorned, and humiliated by arrogant parliamentarians and an ego-maniacal king.
When chosen to lead the Continental Army, Washington was hesitant to accept the position. He didn’t believe the martial skills he gained during the French & Indian War were sufficient to lead a ragtag army of militia misfits against the greatest military on earth. These men did not conclude a military revolution was necessary to end the British tyranny lightly. After much soul searching and angst, they realized there was no choice. They had been pushed far enough and it was time to push back. They also knew if they failed, they would hang.
In 1770, Franklin was 64 years old, suffering from gout and bladder stones. With life expectancies of less than 40 years in those days, he had far outlived most, while accomplishing more as a scientist, writer, publisher, and statesman than almost anyone in history. He had every right to just live out his remaining years in peace and tranquility. But instead, he risked it all on helping birth a new nation, using all his wisdom, guile, and political acumen to help guide the younger revolutionaries Adams, Jefferson, Washington, among others.
He was 70 in 1776 when he signed the Declaration of Independence and died in 1790, shortly after the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1789. He spent his twilight years working tirelessly to birth this Republic. As I and many others enter our 60s, it feels like it is too late for us to make a difference in helping change the course of our troubled nation. But Franklin should be an inspiration to all real patriots fighting impossible odds to try and defeat an arrogant brutal regime bent on crushing those who believe in freedom, liberty, personal responsibility, and a Constitution written in the blood of patriots 250 years ago . . .
[SNIP]
