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| Illustration: ‘The Bloody Massacre,’ engraved by Paul Revere, via Wikimedia Commons |
Today in 1870, an impassioned mob incited British soldiers to fire their weapons, driven by the sensationalistic and exaggerated rhetoric of the populist propagandist Samuel Adams. Said mob were outraged that colonists were being required to contribute to repaying war debts from the recent global conflict, the French & Indian War, from which British victory had spared these very folks from falling under French rule. Five of the insurrectionists were left dead, escalating tensions to a boiling point over the next few years. This culminated in an all-out revolution by 1775 and the eventual end of British colonial rule in the thirteen American colonies. The conflict resulted in millions of lives lost and displaced, with pressure tactics, otten pure terrorism, employed by patriots against fellow citizens loyal to the crown. The upheaval profoundly altered the global order, ultimately leading to the emergence of the United States of America as a global superpower, for both better and worse. Whether one loves or hates America - and I, and, verily, most of thee reading these words do reside in America - one should never be deluded into viewing the patriot forces as unequivocally righteous. The most zealous and ideological among them sought to impose their will on the general population. Today, there are striking parallels, as the country faces division, with movements like #Cult45 and Christian nationalism coalescing around a corrupt, charismatic leader driven by grievance and bloodlust.
Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. Visit The Echo of a Distant Time, @FloydEtcetera on FACEBOOK and X; @arthurnewhook on POST. @arthurnewhook.bsky.social; and @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world.
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