Yesterday was Bastille Day!  Yesterday, French people the world over celebrated the day in July 1789 when cries for freedom from the tyranny of the French monarchy (and its minions) finally erupted for the latter to see.  Long the symbol of the monarchy's iron grip on power, the Bastille was a fitting place for the Revolution to begin.  And begin it did.

    Yes, the French Revolution was rather bloody, and yes, it killed many innocent people.  No argument there.  Inspired as it was by the American Revolution, however, the French Revolution signaled to the "powers that be" (as the late David Halberstram put it) that from this day forward the lower classes would no longer simply accept their lot and move through life accordingly.  From this day forward, they would seek a greater destiny.  After all, they asserted, they, too, are beings of immense marvel and potential.

    The French Revolution also served notice to the oligarchies of the world (which continue to rule the world today), that their mission was not to simply increase their own wealth.  They should rather direct it to the common good.

    After all, we are not here for ourselves.  We are here for each other.