Today, Quatorze Juillet, in France is Bastille Day - which is often seen in English speaking nations as a commemoration of the start of the French Revolution, with a new constitution and some - limited - inclusivity until bloody violence inside France and wars with Europe and the rise of Napoleon ... but, according to this (The Conversation) Bastille Day is:
“in France the day is intimately related to a different historical event: the Fête de la Fédération (Festival of the Federation), a mass gathering held on July 14 1790 ... designed to inaugurate a new era which abolished absolutism and gave birth to a French constitutional monarchy.
... In the spring of 1880, politician Benjamin Raspail submitted a motion to declare July 14 the national day: a date shared between the Fête de la Fédération — a symbol of unity for the right — and the left-oriented image of the storming of the Bastille.”
In my view, it symbolises the best of humanity - rising up against oppression - and the worst - violence and the hijacking of idealism by the quest for power of a few - both those behind the Terror and the changes after the Revolution, and those outside Europe who wanted to resist democratic change as violently as was necessary.
This day has a complex legacy, but, in my opinion, shows that latter set of problems can be overcome by the former attributes - i.e., the desire for freedom and fairness of most people, when properly mobilised, outweighs the selfish machinations of a few.
Where I can, I will try to highlight possible flaws / issues you should consider:
- there may be flawed logical arguments in the above: to find out more about such flaws and thinking generally, I recommend Brendan Myers’ free online course “Clear and Present Thinking”;
- I could be wrong - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.
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Finally, remember: we need to be more human being rather than human doing.
