Do You Hear the People Sing?

July 14, 1789, morning. 954 people crowded outside of a prison in downtown Paris, shouting at the 82 jailers, urging them to stop resisting. The jailers refused. The crowded brought two cannons and fired at the jail. Unsurprisingly the 954 people beat the 82 jailers. They swarmed into the jail, took over the control, and officially started arguably one of the most significant revolution in human history: the French Revolution. Yes, this event is remembered as the Storm of Bastille.

Sixty years later, in New Hampshire, a man named Henry wrote an essay regarding civil disobedience in his two-day sojourn in prison. He was imprisoned because he refused to pay tax as he was concerned that the tax would be used in the American-Mexican War. His essay eventually became one of the most influential one regarding revolution in human history, influencing revolution leaders from other nations in the future. Yes, this Henry has middle name David and last name Thoreau.

Another thirteen years later, in 1862, Victor Hugo published his epic work Les Miserables, celebrating the history of France and French Revolution. In 2012, the book was adapted to a romantic musical film to dramatize the Jean Val Jean’s exodus from prison and Javert’s moral atonement. This accolade-winning features powerful music that echoed in my mind the first time I listened to it when I was thirteen. The song was so full of emotion that even I wanted to join the front line of the rebel and kick some French aristocratic asses.

If Thoreau would be part of the French revolution, would he approve what Jean Val Jean was doing? I highly doubt so. Although both advocating for changes in the existing regime, Thoreau supported more nonviolent resistance, accepted flaws of the regime, and preferred a government that exercises minimal control. He made his position clear in his civil disobedience essay that he did not pursue drastic changes of the regime:

“I came into this world, not chiefly to make this a good place to live in but to live in it, be it good or bad”

What an emotional line! What was more impressive was that Thoreau managed to maintain calmness and sangfroid in his protest even though he put enough passion in his protest against the American government’s move to invading Mexico.

The crowd in the French revolution violently did not want to do the same thing. They attacked the authority, outrageously refused to embrace the existing regime, and ecstatically attemptd to seize control of the government. Listen to the iconic song “Do You Hear the People Sing?” in Les Miserables:

“When the beating of your heart

Echoes the beating of the drums  

There is a life about to start

When tomorrow comes!”

Anything else to say? It’s all about emotion!

One final question to consider: what if the French fellows used Thoreau’s methodology in attempt to overthrow Louis XVI? Probably there would have been fewer mistakes and casualties in the revolution, but would the revolution have been successful? In other words, what does a revolution mean to achieve? Is it all about civil disobedience?