A 50-something French dude that's old enough to think blogs are still cool, if not cooler than ever. I also like to write and to sketch.
A 50-something French dude that's old enough to think blogs are still cool, if not cooler than ever. I also like to write and to sketch.
Of what Nation? You know that there are a few other countries outside your own and that they all have their own constitution? ;)
France, my own country, in the second article of its 'Déclaration universelle des droits de l'homme' (1789) reads « Le but de toute association politique est la conservation des droits naturels et imprescriptibles de l’homme. Ces droits sont la liberté, la propriété, la sûreté et la résistance à l’oppression. » Which roughly translates as : “The aim of any political association is the preservation of the natural and imperscriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.”
Not only does this text states what the purpose of any legit government must be but in doing so it also let it be understood that any government who is not actively working at protecting those fundamental rights stops being legitimate (and then it becomes the political/moral duty of citizens to oppose it).
The text is not mentioning violently overthrowing said government nor is it targeting specifically tyranny or monarchy (even though it was written against them) but it's making it a legit reason to stop obeying and to oppose any form of government that fails to protect those fundamentals rights… without fixing any 'acceptable' limit to the form said opposition could take.
And said limit can and were quite... high, back then. That is not something people like to consider nowadays but violence was part of the Republic’s DNA since its inception. Not even mentioning our own national enthem (la marseillaise) which is everything but friendly to whoever dares threatening our Nation, the most well known symbol is the beheading of the king and queen (and many other aristocrats) and then, in the name of its own safety, the new born French Republic turned itself into a literal mass murderer, culminating in what was later described as 'The Terror' (1792-94) during which, in the name of its own preservation, the Nation (that was indeed directly threatened by European monarchies and by internal dissents) massacred their own population (and also its own leaders). That Terror was a nightmarish blood bath, but I don't think the republic would have stand much of a chance without at least some of that extreme violence.
Violence set aside, I sincerely think France’s 'Déclaration’ is a wonderful text that is more than worth reading and meditating over and over again, today probably more than ever: La déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen , plus its official English translation: The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
I suppose your from the USA? Then, your own Declaration of Independence (1776) states that "whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends (protecting the people's fundamental rights), it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government"
Please do note that they take a stance against 'any Form of Government' that is abusing its power and stops respecting people’s fundamental rights, not just against monarchy or tyranny.
Sure, back then they wrote it against what they considered abuses from the British monarchy but those people were smart enough to make sure that this essential text could be used against abuse of power from any form of government... including democratic ones.
Depending how one interprets it, this could also be one of the reasons why that young USA republic has deemed it necessary to have the 2nd Amendments (1791) say that: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” But I will let US people discuss that particular US notion. Still, as a foreigner I consider it another key text that is worth reading over and over again:
It's also worth remembering those people were highly educated and valued education in the citizen. As far as I can tell, as a mere foreigner, the US constitution does not talk about education of the people but one just needs to refer to Jefferson’s, Adams or Franklin’s own work (edit: and the work of some of their contemporaries) to brush aside any doubt: education and culture was considered a way to protect the republic from any ‘elite’ taking hold of it.
Education is something whose essential importance in protecting and strengthening our democracies we may have dangerously neglected for the last few decades. Here in France too, btw.