This Just In — Full disclosure, I’m a proud daughter of the first American Revolution. My ancestor, Benjamin Parsons fought at Lexington & Concord. I’m not objective on this subject. My family’s connection to America’s origin story fills me with pride.
This week, I’ve been watching Ken Burns’ perfectly timed documentary “The American Revolution.” It’s not only the story about our unlikely victory over the British, but more importantly what drove these colonists into the streets to defend each other and eventually band together with disparate backgrounds and interests and become a single nation.
I’ll gladly admit that I hadn’t realized that George Washington was, before our revolution, a disgruntled soldier angry with the British for denying him the commission as an officer that he deserved after his service in the French-Indian war. The documentary is filled with fascinating insights that provide the predicate for the revolution.
The most stunning of these, for me, is the familiarity of the whole thing. Britain was simply contemptuous and over-reaching in its treatment of the colonies. There was no appetite at all for even pretending to provide the colonists with either fair representation within the British government or protection from lawlessness or the challenges of life in that age.
When British soldiers conducted raids and tried rounding up citizens, the citizens fought back. They organized themselves organically using the original “social media” of neighbors telling neighbors and they turned out to help each other, much as they would do if a neighbor’s house or barn caught fire. All hands passing water buckets, no questions asked.
Unjustified arrests, absurd taxation that benefitted no one but the King and the British government insisting that Americans had no business trying to govern themselves … these are things that prompted ordinary people to dash out into the streets, sometimes with sticks and horse whips alone, to push back on the red coats and simply RESIST.
This week, we have seen the results of ordinary Americans doing almost exactly the same very American thing and for much the same reason. This country has NEVER seen such a sustained pounding of nationwide protest focused entirely on an autocratic president reaching a crescendo that we saw on Tuesday.
The entire Congress made clear it can respond to public pressure with its near-unanimous vote to compel the president to release records associated with a criminal investigation.
In an extremely rare procedural move in the Senate, the MINORITY leader called for this bill to be considered passed in the Senate the minute it arrived in that chamber. This was by unanimous consent, without reading the bill, without debate, without a vote and could be stopped by the objection of any member. Without objection, this was agreed to.
Why does that matter? This was a stunning announcement to the 47th president that he does not have autocratic control over the Republican Party any longer.
As the soon-to-be-bounced Speaker of the House Mike Johnson dashed down the halls of the Capitol, lying to (and running away from) reporters that Minority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer had pulled a fast one and that he and Majority Leader Senator Thune had agreed that the bill needed amendments, Marjorie Taylor Green took out her drapery tape measure and began getting ready to make her move for the Speakership.
This is a reversal of fortune that was brought about by the women who were, as children, victims of Jeffrey Epstein who were brought together and lobbied their elected representatives to hear their stories and help them tell the truth. That’s all – just the truth.
The unique characteristics of these crimes and the universal need to protect children and what has cut through a lot of procedural nonsense. It has been an inspiration to watch and it’s difficult to listen to all at the same time. Many or most of these women had never met the other victims in person until this month. That connection is its own liberty bell that cannot be unrung. This is #metoo on steroids.
This is our Revolution 2.0. We are returning to the common ground of American life, liberty and our pursuit of happiness. It’s our time to give thanks next week. I’m thankful for Ken Burns’ amazing ability to reveal America to Americans in such a captivating and unsparing way and I’m deeply inspired by my fellow citizens who have been taking to the streets and learning from each other how best to resist.
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and the host of the Weekend Watercooler on 97.9 The Hill. She is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – jean@penandinc.com and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
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