On the very night that the Gunpowder Plot was foiled, on November 5th, 1605, bonfires were set alight to celebrate the safety of the King. Since then, November 5th has become known as Bonfire Night. The event is commemorated every year with fireworks and burning effigies of Guy Fawkes on a bonfire.
Apparently the British have no sense of humor ;). This post should not be taken as encouraging the blowing up any government building of any kind...not even the Dept of Motor Vehicles :-P
Alas I can't find Guy Fawkes listed in Butler's Lives of the Saints nor is it a Holy Day of Obligation...the Church has gotten soft over the years...
For a very loose modern day interpretation check out the movie V for Vendetta. Warning it's violent, salacious and potty-mouthed at times. You may want to catch an edited TV version of it instead of renting it. But the message, People shouldn't be afraid of their government, is awesome. And will become even more important now that Comrade Obama is the new Emperor.
"......words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now high chancellor, Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent......More than four hundred years ago a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice, and freedom are more than words, they are perspectives. So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you then I would suggest you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand beside me one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament, and together we shall give them a fifth of November that shall never, ever be forgot." - V
2 comments:
I love V for Vendetta.
(I voted for Baldwin, BTW.)
I really need to buy the DVD of it.
Your guy got 3,412 votes here in Maryland. Not bad considering how flamming liberal this state is
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