Children of the Revolution: 3 Commonalities of Cancel Culture and The French Revolution and What That Means for Our Kids.
April 14, 2022 | Abigail Pierce
I don’t know about you, but I remember growing up in a world that was kinder than what I see today. Social media is not what you would call a ‘kind place,’ and as a general rule, the mindset in our culture tends a lot more towards survival than cooperation. I am blessed, however, to serve in a place where Christ is at the center, and kindness is common. But as we have worked tirelessly these last months to produce our original new musical, The Scarlet Pimpernel, I have been reminded again of just how dark the world can be when Christ is not at the center. But that darkness is not unique to now. The French Revolution stands as a stark reminder to history of just how lawless and inhumane the rule of the mob can be. And the same spirit of that revolution lives today. The chosen method of judgment in our culture however is not the guillotine, in many ways, we have chosen something far more effective.
Cancel Culture.
In a moment, a person’s life, their influence, and their work can be destroyed by the decree of a faceless mob in the social media world. Someone who has been canceled is graciously allowed to go on living, but their place in society has been lost. In the name of accountability and justice, the voice of another human being can be completely silenced, with no hope of redemption. It is an ugly feature of our culture today. But who decides? Whose place is it to be judge, jury, and executioner to another human being?
In the last few weeks, everyone has been losing their minds over the Will Smith Oscar slap. No one seems to be able to talk about anything else. Interestingly enough, the jury still seems to be out on this one. Was he right or wrong? Was it inappropriate or was he just standing up for his wife? In the end, a man, in front of the whole world, stood as judge, jury, and executioner, and took physical action against another man, and then he cursed him out. And now, the whole world can’t come to an agreement on the rightness of his actions, because to come to a conclusion about him would be to condemn themselves. He decided Chris Rock deserved to be punished and he took action to do so. And when the world of social media decides an individual with inalienable rights should be silenced and deplatformed, they take action to make it happen. In principle, they are the same. It is only in practice that you see the differences. It was actual violence in the case of Will Smith, in the others it is a violent spirit.
There is a quote by Maximillien Robespierre that I have always found particularly unsettling. He said, “Terror is nothing other than justice, prompt, severe, inflexible.” There was no mercy in the world of Revolutionary France. To be associated with the old world of the aristocracy, to desire to show mercy to those who were merely associated with royalty, it was all derided as damaging to the republic. “Indulgence for the royalists, cry certain men, mercy for the villains! No! Mercy is for the innocent, mercy for the weak, mercy for the unfortunate, mercy for humanity.” For you see, to be a royalist in that day was to lose your spot with the rest of humanity. To say a man cannot be a woman, or like a tweet that says so in our day is to be stripped of all freedom of expression and afforded not an ounce of mercy by the mob. Today, as it was then, association with certain worldviews is tantamount to baring your neck to the sword.
This brings me to a final commonality. It’s one of the most saddening to me personally, but it is the logical end of the equation. It is the dehumanization of the enemy. When a victim was called to the guillotine, they were called by number. When a person was placed in a German concentration camp, they were given a number. It’s easier to destroy a life when that life is nothing more than a number. But today, when a person is canceled, you don’t see their face, you don’t feel the weight of the condemnation that they bear. In the social media world of today, a person is nothing more than words on a screen. They are not flesh and blood. And so, the mob doesn’t have to see the destruction they have wrought. All they see is a few less words on their screen. Like Robespierre during the revolution, it is easy for them to say, “Society owes protection only to peaceable citizens; the only citizens in the Republic are the republicans.” If you don’t agree, you don’t count. The culture we live in today does not have to look its victims in the eye.
There is a song in our original musical, The Scarlet Pimpernel, called Truth, Honour, Fidelity. It is the rousing battle cry for The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, and there is a line in it that says, “Truth, Honour, Fidelity, fear will hold no power over me.” In this world, there is a lot that can come up against us, but for a child of God, the victory is won. And fear can have dominion over us! The cost for standing up for what is true can be high, and often, it is a lonely thing. But we have a perfect example in Christ Himself. He was willing to be made sin for us, so that we might have victory over death and sin. He stood alone and sacrificed Himself for the sake of the world.
The story of The Scarlet Pimpernel is an inspiring reminder of what it means to stand up for what is right. Sir Percival Blakeney’s definition of success does not include winning the love of the masses. Very simply put, success to Percy is doing all that can be done for the sake of the innocent, it is standing up for what is right in the face of even the most overwhelming odds. The wonderful thing about this story is that the character of Percy sees reality as it is, but it does not make him hopeless or cynical, instead it galvanizes him into action. When our children are faced with the darkness of the world, or are subjected to the hatred of those around them, they can face it with hope and joy, knowing the words of Christ are as true today as when he spoke them, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:18-19). But that is not the only promise our children can cling to. We have a calling as believers to be salt. We can have an effect on the world around us. Cancel culture is just that, a culture. But when we stand for the truth, and show the love of Christ, we can change the culture.
Here at The Academy of Arts Logos Theatre, it is our mission to use the arts as they were intended—as tools to communicate the love of Christ and His glory and beauty to a culture that desperately needs it. Shows like The Scarlet Pimpernel not only give us an opportunity to tell a challenging and beautiful story, but it also creates an alternative for performers and teachers who are striving to produce stories that exalt rather than debase the values, heroism, and sacrificial love that points towards Christ. With our new Show in a Box, we take shows like The Scarlet Pimpernel and design a guide with all the resources a school or theatre group would need to produce a show that is excellent and God-honoring. We can reclaim the arts and the culture for the glory of God, but it takes dedication, and a willingness to sacrifice for the sake of truth. I invite you to support us in our aim and come see our original new musical of The Scarlet Pimpernel. Our opening weekend has sold out because people are hungry for stories like this! There are tickets still available for this production in the coming weeks, and you don’t want to miss out on this fantastic production! And for more information about the resources we have to offer such as Show in a Box, see our website here! This resource has the potential to make a positive impact on the lives of all who use it and isn’t that after all what teaching is all about!
Blessings!
