Week 8 Signs of Crisis in a Gilded Age

Whenever I learn or hear about revolutions, and people actually putting their lives at risk for what they believe is right, I am always impressed by that. I think that in order for people living in a country to revolt against the government, bosses, whoever is oppressing them is extremely brave. It also makes you think about how bad the situation actually was, in order for normal people like you and I to grab guns and fight against the most powerful group of people in a country. This radical yet vital act takes bravery but I think it also takes desperation. Desperation for a peaceful society? For more independence? For freedom from the upper hand? Whatever the reason, it makes you think about the kind of change that ordinary people can make by standing up for what is right.

If you look at history, all the most radical change in societies has come from revolution, and I think that in order to make an enormous change (whether thats politically, economically or socially) sometimes a revolution is the last resort and the only thing that is going to make a big enough statement for change. Unfortunately revolutions almost always come with violence, death and imprisonment, but if we look at this in a different way, these people are paving the way for generations to come. Giving the people of the future a better way of life.

I think that my question this week is, what kind of situation nowadays in North America would render people a reason to revolt in an extreme and violent way? When Trump became president there were marches and protests all over the world, which is a revolt in a way, but I’m not sure how much change came from it? Are revolutions like the Mexican revolution, only a thing of the past? Because the situation in the US has some awfully similar parallels to situations in the past that have ended in revolution. I’m not suggesting a violent revolt from the American people, I’m just wondering what is different nowadays from the time of revolutions?

Thanks for reading!

1 thought on “Week 8 Signs of Crisis in a Gilded Age

  1. Frances

    Hi thanks for your post! I think you have an interesting insight that today in most very developed countries like the US we seem to have less violent/overt revolutions and yet there are some stark similarities with what provoked violent revolutions in the past. I think perhaps this has to do with the fact that there are laws and rules in place that dictate what are and aren’t effective and appropriate ways to protest/revolt and also the injustices are harder to pinpoint. For example in the US, overthrowing Trump wouldn’t solve a lot of the injustice that exists today because although he may act like it some ways, he is not the ultimate leader/dictator. Thanks for your thought-provoking post!

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