It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
Those memorable words penned by Charles Dickens in 1859 begin the story of the times leading up to the French Revolution and ending in the Jacobin Reign of Terror. The Tale of Two Cities may be back for an encore. So might the Reign of Terror.
The earth’s very first worldwide revolution began in
Paris on November 17th 2018. The immediate cause was an increase in
taxes on diesel and gasoline. The French government levied higher taxes
on diesel of 7.6 cents per liter in 2018 with a planned increase of an
additional 6.5 cents effective on January 1st 2019. Gasoline taxes rose
by 3.9 cents in 2018 and were due to go up 2.9 cents more with the turn
of the New Year.
Globalization has caused a mass migration all over
the world from rural areas and small towns to the large cities. As the
migration took place, the balance of political power shifted and the
rural areas had less and less of an impact on the decision making
process.
French law requires all vehicles be equipped with
neon yellow vests for safety if the automobile is disabled or the driver
needs to change a tire. Yellow vests or Gilets Jaunes are in every car
in case of emergency. Any emergency will do, even a protest.
The protests began simply with a demand that the
increases in fuel taxes be rescinded. From Paris other groups of the
Gilets Jaunes sprang up spontaneously all over France in village squares
and in the ubitiquous traffic circles controlling the flow of traffic
rather than red lights found in most countries. People in the streets
protesting actions of the government are the ultimate form of direct
democracy............http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/01.19/cake.html
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