All 'faces' of liberty and all revolutions not the same
A heritage and a hope
Peter Johnston

Last summer on a quiet August day my family ambled about Lexington Green in Massachusetts and listened to a young tour guide share about "the shot heard 'round the world" back in April 1775. That shot fired by British Redcoats upon American militia is considered the beginning of the American Revolution - the springboard toward American liberty that has served as a model around the globe.

Approximately 15 months later a group of men met in Philadelphia to officially draft our Declaration of Independence which we celebrate every July. This year will mark the 232nd anniversary of the signing of that document announcing our official break with England.

For the next several weeks in anticipation of that anniversary, I will be looking at "The Face of Liberty." That face of American liberty is one with which we should be very familiar since not all faces of liberty look alike or govern alike.

In commemorating our declaration and the revolution of which it was a part we should take pause and acknowledge also that just as all faces of liberty are not alike, neither are all revolutions. Revolutions are not all created equal.

Consider for instance the French Revolution which began only a few years after ours ended. The American Revolution was distinct from the French Revolution in its inception, its purpose and its results. Foundational principles behind ours, for example, included unalienable rights endowed by our Creator and religious freedom. In contrast, the state was the source of rights and laws governing those rights coming out of the French Revolution.

While paying lip service to religious freedom the French experience really emphasized freedom from religion. In fact, there were attempts to de-Christianize France including the elimination of a seven day week in order to blot out reminders of Sundays and elimination of holidays such as Easter and Christmas!

Thankfully for us on this side of the Atlantic the results have also differed. Since the American Revolution our nation has successfully maintained peaceful transitions of power for over 230 years. Yes, we did change the form of government from that embodied in the unsuccessful Articles of Confederation to the that of the U.S. Constitution, but even that change took place in an orderly, bloodless way. Since 1789 and the ratification of the U.S. Constitution we have maintained the same form of government.

The French? That same year, in August 1789, the French issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen symbolizing their rejection of an absolute monarchy. In September all church property was confiscated to help overcome a massive problem with debt. Progressively through several years they moved from the much acclaimed slogan of "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" to a reign of terror and the motto "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, or Death!" Over 40,000 people were executed and hundreds of thousands arrested and imprisoned who disagreed with those in power. While our symbol is often viewed as the liberty bell, theirs might rightly be viewed as the guillotine.

While promising freedom the French moved through common stages of anarchy and tyranny. Eventually the despot Napoleon rose to power promising to bring "order" to a chaotic society.

While we have maintained the same form of government since 1789, the French have changed seven times.

So, as we anticipate the celebration of American Independence Day, let us remember the unique roots of our nation and the results that flow from those roots. Not all revolutions are created equal, nor do they all result in the same face of liberty. Over the next several weeks we will attempt to remind ourselves of the face of American liberty as we look at it through the lenses of political freedom, economic freedom and religious freedom. That unique genetic combination has created a face not easily duplicated.

Peter Johnston, an East Bernard resident, graduated from Cornell University with a history degree and is a former high school history teacher.