The gunpowder, treason, and plot,
I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.“
No, I probably wouldnt be as aware of the holiday if it weren’t for V for Vendetta, but in my own defense, I had trivial knowledge of the holiday before the movie. The short, short version of it is that in 1605, Guy Fawkes, a Catholic in England, and his co-conspirators planned on blowing up White Hall along with the King and his aides. King James, a Protestant, was killing Catholics for no good reason, so Fawkes wanted to make a statement about that. That statement had an exclamation point at the end of it. He and his band of merry Catholics were caught and killed on November 5, 1605. Thus, Guy Fawkes Day was born. Today the day is passed with celebrations and fireworks, and even some effigies of Fawkes burned in the streets.
As dastardly ( maybe even terroristic ) a deed as Fawkes had planned, could he be considered a freedom fighter, instead of a terrorist? Shouldn’t we consider the Sons of Liberty a terrorist group, as they tossed all that tea into Boston Harbor? Is Paul Revere a traitor for warning the militias about the British Army? The British government wasn’t even killing the colonists, they were just taxing them! However, because of the outcome of the war and the country that we live in, we consider these men revolutionaries and freedom fighters. I wonder how British history books record those events? That debate rages even today, and won’t be solved anytime soon!
Now, hold on to your seats, because I am going to try to connect the events of 400 years ago, with more recent events, with the help of Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin was a great silent film actor in the early 20th century. Near the end of his career, he made a few “talkies”, one of his last films was made in 1940, and it was a political satire of the current events of Nazi Germany. The film was called The Great Dictator and was so politically charged, it was actually banned in Germany by Hitler himself. It is the ending of the film, Chaplin’s speech that speaks of democracy and the power of the people, that is pretty inspiring, despite the near 70 years it has been since its utterance.
So, it is in the spirit of Guy Fawkes ( his revolutionary spirit, not so much his explosive behavior ) and Charlie Chaplin’s hope for a united mankind, that I present this post, on this Guy Fawkes Day!
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