Rob Bishop: “I hope you will apologize as we talk about this historic event; I am still an old history teacher at heart, and…”

“I hope you will apologize as we talk about this historic event; I am still an old history teacher at heart, and sometimes I talk too much about it, but I see historical precedence that we sometimes forget all about. In the late 18th century, the revolution took place in France, which ended with the overthrow of the monarchy, the beheading of the king. The Jacobins established the republic, with three goals in mind: liberty, equality, and fraternity. While this was happening, across the English Channel, in the British Parliament, Burke was watching it all unfold, and he made the statement that now the French are free to do as they please. We ought to see what it pleases them to do before we risk congratulation. As my colleagues know, before the century was done, the French Revolution had degenerated under Robespierre into the Reign of Terror, as we call it now, into which all of those noble concepts were lost in the blood of the beheadings that took place.”