Once upon a time there was an organisation called “The Committee of Public Safety”.
It was a bit like Orwell's later inventions of “The Ministry of
Truth” and the “Ministry of Peace”. They were all the antithesis of what their name suggested.
The leader of the “The
Committee of Public Safety” was a guy called Maximilien Robespierre.
Robespierre rose to power during the French Revolution. During one
year from 1793 though to 1794, the “Committee For Public Safety”
executed/murdered somewhere between 40,000 and 200,000 people. (History Today Article Here)
Today the victims of
the “Committee for Public Safety” are usually superficially
presented as Toffs or Aristocrats. In fact the vast majority were just
common folk who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Appalling as that is,
it is very important to understand that Robespierre was not corrupt.
Robespierre neither
sought money or privilege. Though he was driven by his revolutionary
zeal to seek power he was to all affects and purposes, an honest man.
(just like Hitler)
Robespierre was
dedicated to his cause. In a bizarre way he was dedicated to the
“Public Good”.
Nobody can challenge
Robespierre's good intentions. Though we may all well remember what
paves the Road to Hell.
Robespierre's good
intentions did not prevent him from denouncing honest citizens or
even his fellow revolutionaries when it suited his ends.
During a
period know as “The Terror” Robespierre sent close friends and
political allies to the guillotine as well as thousands upon
thousands of hapless citizens who were really only guilty of bad
timing and political unfashionability. (Wikipedia on "The Terror" Here)
Today in France, Robespierre is a synonym for a disgusting, bigoted, paranoid spasm in French history. As well as a blinkered paranoid and failed
doctrine.
In modern France, no
statues exist to Robespierre. Nor should they.
So how does this relate
to Jim Hansen or Global Warming or even Denialism?
I expect you know that
Dr J. Hansen is a Scientist of major repute. I won't bother going
into his achievements here (just Google the Guy) but I suppose I
should 'fess up that generally speaking (with a few caveats) I adhere
to his analysis and listen carefully to what he has to say.
Today in a
Robspierre-like tirade in the Guardian, Hansen, along with 3 other heavy duty scientists
are preposterously accused of being Deniers. (See Guardian Article Here)
Of course the term
“Denier” is remisciscent of other labels pumped out by bigots. "Witch", "Heretic", “Jew”, “Sympathiser”,
“Collaborator” all come to mind. In Robespierre-speak the
de-rigeur term was “Anti-Revolutionary Traitor “.
Today we have not one
Robspierre but many. Each one using their spiteful categorizations to
inhibit discussion and debate. The latest tirade in the Guardian is
but one of many. "The Terror" of Robspierre's time is today mirrored in the intellectual terrorism of political correctness that seeks to deny a voice to our finest scientists.
Today highly
experienced and world leading scientists (like Hansen, Wigley,Emanuel
and Caldeira) suggest we should pragmatically pursue Nuclear Power
to fight Global Warming and Atmospheric Pollution. In the eyes of the Guardian, that is their
crime.
To label this
illustrious group (or anyone) as “Deniers” because they support a
viable way of avoiding a potential calamity is just a descent into the modern day version of “The Terror”.
Today in the likes of
WWF or Greenpeace and especially the Guardian newspaper, Citizen Robespierre
would be quite at home.
