“It is then a revolt.” “No, Sire,” replied the Duke. “It is a revolution."

As the text from "The Human Spirit" claims, a revolution requires philosophical inspiration in order to be successful.  In my opinion, one of the most inspirational quotes/ poems is titled, "Our Deepest Fear." Though Nelson Mandela used this text in a speech, it was originally written by Marianne Williamson. "Our Deepest Fear" is a call to action, of sorts, whether on a personal level or a societal level.

Without the attitude and belief by the people that a revolution is both necessary and possible,  many may not have the motivation or drive to even consider the pursuit of such an endeavor. Furthermore, an event with the magnitude of a revolution often has a ripple effect and can work to bring about similar events elsewhere. One line specifically in "Our Deepest Fear" speaks to this phenomenon.

 "...and as we let our own light shine, 

we unconsciously give other people 

permission to do the same."

-Williamson

A perfect historical example of the ripple effect of revolution and revolutionary thought is the relationship between America's independence from Britain in the American Revolution (1775-1783), and the French Revolution (1789-1798) which followed.  America served as an example of both revolutionary thought and action. Furthermore, the fact that the United States succeeded against a power such as Britain surely gave hope, belief and motivation to the people of France who also had a fierce hunger for change.

The thoughts, ideals and beliefs which helped to drive such change are characteristic of Western democracy.  However, the roots of these ideals are in Natural Human Rights.

This desire and reverence for Natural Rights of mankind became especially popular in the Age of Enlightenment.  The belief was that Human Rights originate in Nature, and Nature is of God.  Therefore, these Natural and inherant rights cannot be granted or stripped away by a political institution.  These ideas are evident in the Declaration of Independance in America.  They are also outlined in The Declaration of the Rights of Man issued by the National Assembly in France on 8/27/1789.

Today, many paralleles are evident with the current uprising and revolution which is taking place in Egypt.  The people of Egypt essentailly seek the same principles and rights which the French sought and fought for more than 200 years ago.  Though a considerable amount of time has passed, people still seek many of the same principles and ideals in the current revolution in Egypt. 

Perhaps the most glaring example of how times had changed between the French Revolution and the Revolution taking place in Egypt, are the images (or tools) which have become symbols of each revolution.  The French Revolution saw thousands (more than 25,000) of executions of people (be-headed by the guillotine) from both the political left and right who may have been considered a threat to the movement.  Many of those executed never saw a fair trial.  Radicals became quite "trigger-happy" in their use of the guillotine, and some of this time during the French Revolution became known as the Reign of Terror.  Therefore, the French Revolution is thought to be largely symbolized by the guillotine, as it represents the terror of the time and the numerous executions which were on public display. 

Since the French Revolution, there have been huge advancements in modern technology.  The world became much more connected and communication moved much faster during the time just before the American Civil War with the invention and technology of the telegraph. Today, connection and communication across the globe takes place in almost real-time since the development and advancement of the internet, not to mention other devices such as cell phones and satellites.  

Along with the internet came the development of online social networks which connects people in ways never known before. Demonstrators in Egypt primarily used Facebook as the social networking platform with which to unite like-minded citizens and o quickly organize large protests and demonstrations.  Eventually, Egypt shut down the internet across the nation in an attempt to prevent the use of both the internet and sites such as Facebook as a way to cut off communication and paralyze the demonstrators. Cutting off communication between people simply provided another example of the violation of the rights of the people.  After all, what is more natural than communication? As a result, Facebook has largely become the symbol of the uprising and revolution in Egypt. 

 

It is no wonder that the rapid pace and speed at which news and information travels across large distances has impacted the speed of the ripple effect of revolutionary thought and action.  The French Revolution took place less than 10 years after the Revolutionary War in America. Today, there can almost be a domino effect. Just after the uprising in Egypt, Libya followed suit within days.