Harold 6

Don Harold

Mrs. Graves

College Writing

Not Far From Nov. 5th

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,

The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,

I know of no reason

Why Gunpowder Treason

Should ever be forgotten.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent

To blow up King and Parli'ment.

Three-score barrels of powder below

To prove old England's overthrow;

By God's providence he was catch'd

With a dark lantern and burning match.

Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.

Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!

In 1605 there was an assassination attempt on the Protestant kings of England, Scotland and the rest of the Aristocracy by a group of English Catholics, notably one of which is Guy Fawkes, for whom the night of November Fifth is remembered. Ordered to execution, even Fawkes makes a way to defiance by tossing himself off the scaffold and breaking his own neck to die before he could be quartered and drawn. The men who died on that day gave rise to a more free method to worship their god in their own way. That group defied authority and stirred not just one country but two, and earned their people a second chance at their way of life. They were Revolutionaries who died for the cause.

In not only American history, but also history of most of the world, Authority is decided by either Power or Majority, but mostly Power, stemming from military dominance of one people over another. This can be seen in historical figures like Alexander the Great, Julius Ceasar, and most other figures we call ‘Rulers”. Authority can be divided into two sides; The first of which is the group who rule without the consent of the people, and the ones who rule against the consent. The greater majority of these rulers simply against consent are Monarchy, the rule of inheritance, Theocracy, the rule of God, Dictatorship, rule by force (Notably the attempt of a Monarchy). The remaining forms of government that are either by the consent, like a Democracy, or without would be a Oligarchy, the rule of a group who shares interest. Finally, there is the final form of government, Anarchy.

Of the six forms of government, there are three categories to put them in, It must be known that in all forms there exist omnipresent problems and gaps in logic that will prove to fail time and again, but they are not simply unchangeable styles of government, just different theory on being a power of authority. In the hundreds of years since the creation of the last form, Democracy, in Ancient Greece. It seems that for now, man lacks the need for a new form of government, and these forms of government are the ones who, despite their wide variety and great differences, still find disobedience and problems.

Among the problems all forms of government display, is the display itself, and how authority is presented in public. In name, it has been in the form and face of Kings and Queens, the Pope, Presidents, Knights, Police, Constables, Guards, and so many more titles. In it’s many incarnation, each one dealing with different levels of control and restraint, and so many more with different amounts of jurisdiction, that there is some position to govern almost everything one can imagine. Each and every face is the same in authority, in that they have a set amount of rules, the only thing that can be changed between one man of a position, and another man in the very same position, is the interpretation of the written laws.

The people are governed, and justly so, as with only anarchy, the passages from a time long past tells us, there will shortly be on who craves power such as Alexander did, or another, and that will create a dictatorship, only to lead to a Monarchy. People crave someone to guide them, and in this, they find moral confusion, to which they seek out a God or belief in which to follow. From this point, some may come and decide to secede and create a nation of like-minded people, to stand out against what has been and seems to have stood since the beginning of their time. People rise to meet their self-proclaimed masters and challenge them differently with every passing generation.

Much like in those who rule, the ruled can be divided into several groups. The people who respond to authority respond in one of three ways, that of Obedience, Disobedience and Passive responses. The first and the last are both categorized as Obedience, people who will endure authoritative figures whether they agree or not, and will be made to do just as those who control society please. The other side is a less addressed side of Disobedience who prefer Chaos over Order.

Among them there are two classes as well, though both are the ones who are against authority. While the first class is the lower class of the two, it is the greatest in number, and is composed of lawbreakers and people who offend those around them, not just authority. Societies’ undesirable class, they number greatly in areas of low income, using thievery, murder, and other means to make up for the disparity gap. Moving beyond this class, who in the end phase of the cycle that makes up society, they will be moved into penitentiaries and prisons for varying amounts of time based on their crimes.

A second class of the chaotic side is a smaller and infinitely harder to come by group of people who not only defy authority, but bring about change and move the people around them to accept or reject ideas, philosophies, and start revolutions. Among them there are hundreds or thousands, and each one is debatably a revolutionary, by definition, which is marked by change, or innovation. Appropriately, Revolutionary is a synonym of Anarchist. Anarchy, in its true form is a society that prevails without law or authority, no one person has any jurisdiction.

Upon the tens of hundreds who defied the law or whatever held them back from what they believed, many have been cut down by an execution, whether their name survives the cross or bullets from afar, things like the Guy Fawkes mask is still worn today, be it in festival dance or in metaphor. The anarchists who create a following and pull at the leash authority has shackled them to begin slowly to pull on the ones who are contented and live on the other side of the people, the ones who are obedient.

Though they had no qualms about anything before that they spoke of, the words of what could also be referred to as a prophet pulls their ear far enough that they can look towards the speaker, and what they see astounds them. One man, sentenced to death by hanging flings himself far over the gallows to break his own neck, A mass of people, downtrodden or even just frowned upon standing for the first time out of chains. One man stands and asked why he must be the only one who is tormented, and thousands hear his call, and ask the same. One man stood and hundreds rose with him.

With the call to stand, there must also be a bowing out, and a curtain call. Unfortunately, not all men in this world can see eye to eye with each other and even fewer can accept one mans’ dream. Many great anarchists have been executed, assassinated, or simply killed by those who did not agree with their ways. In the end, many revolutionaries have become martyrs for their cause, and died, a testament to their beliefs.

The power of authority is only measured by the people who follow the word of those in power unquestioningly. Guy Fawkes denied the parliament and it’s people who wanted to banish his religion, and took destiny into his hands. With more and more people educated and awakened to the face to Right and Wrong, more people deny authority its’ own power and people will rise again and again, regardless of how many are cut down to take the power back and Revolve. With every Revolution people are turned back the path they are intended to, no matter the interference from people in power.

“Remember Remember, the Fifth of November,

The Gunpowder Treason and Plot

I know of no reason

Why the gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot.”