Show i t l tg Revolution and the Bicentennial J e S 1 As we prepare to celebrate our country's birthday it is important that we understand just what we have that's worth all the fuss Americas America's revolution is so far in the past that many of us tend to forget that we vve ever had one But that is what the Bicentennial is all about a a revolution that gave birth to a new form of government so perfectly conceived that today it stands as the oldest constitutional constitutional constitutional con con- system on earth The American Revolution was unique Unlike many since it arose out of the legitimate grievances of the people rather than the ideological extremes of a tiny minority And the unparalleled stability that has followed it i is also traceable to the wisely limited goals of American revolutionary leaders Irving Kristol Henry R. R Luce Professor of Urban Values at New York University recently compared the American and French Revolutions in a speech reprinted by American Brands Inc Kristol noted that the French Revolution which has become a amodel amodel amodel model for most other revolutions promised as practically all revolutions have promised since the abolition of poverty The American Revolution promised no such thing the leaders of this rev revolution lution understood th that t their contemporary Adam Smith understood and what we today today have some difficulty understanding understanding understanding un un- un- un Kristol continues namely that poverty is abolished by economic growth not by economic redistribution there is never enough to distribute and that rebellions by creating instability and uncertainty have mischievous consequences for economic growth Similarly the French Revolution promised a condition condition condition con con- of happiness to its citizens under the new regime whereas the American Revolution promised merely to permit the individual to engage in the of happiness' happiness More Americans across a wider strata of society have pursued and caught that happiness and shared in inthe inthe inthe the fruits of a productive country than anywhere at anytime in the worlds world's history And for that fact alone the Bicentennial of the American Revolution is indeed worth celebrating |