The Fifth of November
Remember, remember, The fifth of November
The Gunpowder treason and plot
I know of no reason, Why the Gunpowder treason, Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes and his companions, Did the scheme contrive,
To blow the King and Parliament, All up alive.
Threescore barrels, laid below. To prove old England's overthrow.
But, by God's providence, him they catch, With a dark lantern, lighting a match.
A stick and a stake, For King James's sake!
If you won't give me one, I'll take two, The better for me, And the worse for you.
A rope, a rope, to hang the Pope, A penn'orth of cheese to choke him,
A pint of beer to wash it down, And a jolly good fire to burn him.
Holloa, boys! holloa, boys! make the bells ring,
Holloa, boys! holloa boys! God save the King.
Hip, hip, hooor-r-r-ray!
In 1605, thirteen young men planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Among them was Guy Fawkes, Britain's most notorious traitor.
After Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603, English Catholics who had been persecuted under her rule had hoped that her successor, James I, would be more tolerant of their religion. James I had, after all, had a Catholic mother. Unfortunately, James did not turn out to be more tolerant than Elizabeth and a number of young men, 13 to be exact, decided that violent action was the answer.
A small group took shape, under the leadership of Robert Catesby. Catesby felt that violent action was warranted. Indeed, the thing to do was to blow up the Houses of Parliament. In doing so, they would kill the King, maybe even the Prince of Wales, and the Members of Parliament who were making life difficult for the Catholics. Today these conspirators would be known as extremists, or terrorists.
Robert Catesby was the charismatic leader of the group of conspirators. He had a way with people, and convinced a number of his impressionable friends to go along with the murderous plan which would later be known as the Gunpowder Plot. Even as problems with his plot later arose and some members expressed doubt, Catesby remained convinced that violent action was the only way forward.
Catesby first recruited his close friends and relatives: Thomas Wintour, Jack Wright and Thomas Percy, but the group quickly grew to include Guy Fawkes. The small core of conspirators felt Guy would be a strong addition. Guy was not part of the close knit circle of Catesby's small group, but he had spent time in the Netherlands and in Spain where he had fought, many said very well, as a mercenary. While in Spain he also earned the nickname Guido. Indeed, he even signed his name Guido Fawkes in a number of places.
He was as passionate about the plight of the Catholics in England as his colleagues. As a member of the group, he quickly became a trusted member, and was later charged with the dangerous task of acquiring 36 barrels of gunpowder and storing them in a rented space beneath the House of Lords.
Soon after Fawkes' addition, others who joined the group were Robert Wintour, Christopher (Kit) Wright, Robert Keyes, Thomas Bates. Latecomers to the group were John Grant, Ambrose Rookwood, Francis Tresham, and Everard Digby. In all, there were 13 conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot.
To carry out their plan, the conspirators got hold of 36 barrels of gunpowder - and stored them in a cellar, just under the House of Lords.
But as the group worked on the plot, it became clear that innocent people would be hurt or killed in the attack, including some people who even fought for more rights for Catholics. Some of the plotters started having second thoughts. One of the group members even sent an anonymous letter warning his friend, Lord Monteagle, to stay away from the Parliament on November 5th.
The warning letter reached the King, and the King's forces made plans to stop the conspirators.
Another tradition still observed by Britons is the annual visit of the Queen to Parliament every year. Ever since the Gunpowder Plot, the reigning monarch enters the Parliament only once a year, on what is called "the State Opening of Parliament". Prior to the Opening, and according to custom, the Yeomen of the Guard search the cellars of the Palace of Westminster. Today, the Queen and Parliament still observe this tradition.
On November 5th, 2013 Anonymous, WikiLeaks, the Pirate Party, Occupy and Oath Keepers combined forces, world-wide,taking a stand against governmental corruption and oppression.The turn out was incredibly impressive on a global scale..
The issues were diverse.. In Parliament Square, protesters burned energy bills to oppose the rising cost of fuel and there were minor clashes with police in riot gear as protesters also gathered near Buckingham Palace, where a fire was started yards away from its gates. No arrests took place, according to the Metropolitan police.
The numbers of those protesting in central London were swelled by a gathering on Westminster Bridge organised by the People's Assembly, an anti-cuts umbrella group whose "Bonfire of Austerity" was addressed by the Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Jon McDonnell.
In the US, protesters in Washington DC gathered at the Washington Monument before walking to the White House to raise awareness of causes including opposition to mass surveillance and genetically modified foods. Other protests, of varying size, took place in cities including Vancouver, Tel Aviv, Dublin, Paris, Chicago and Sydney.
From The Million Mask March web site:
If you are tired of empty promises, new unconstitutional laws being passed every day, ever-increasing taxes that are only funneled into more wasteful spending and debt we cannot afford or laws that eliminate jobs and increase living expenses, then you are welcome to join. This is a public event. In the short time since it was created, the event is already gaining overwhelming popularity, and many attendees have committed to carpooling. This is an opportunity for you to express your right to free speech while you still have it. This is not a time for violence or causing trouble. This is a time to peacefully show our country’s leaders that we are all tired of the corruption and would like to see them make some positive changes that benefit the struggling people of this weary nation. There is already too much violence and hate in the world as it is, so it is time we stand together as citizens and assemble peacefully. Forget religious affiliations, forget sexual orientation, forget political party affiliation, forget race, forget gender – we are all American citizens and we all want our freedom back. Until we stop dividing ourselves, we can never stand together for the common good of everyone.
http://millionmaskmarch.wordpress.com/The Million Mask March site below is incredibly good, it gives video's, directories, news articles and dates.
http://millionmaskmarch.org/
Philippines
Washington DC, USA
Los Angeles, USA
Manchester, England
Italy
Turkey
Czech Republic
France
We live in a complex and changing world, but the one thing that never changes is the desire for freedom,governmental transparency, justice.. and it will be at their peril if governments ignore what is happening across the globe today.
No one can deny.. the time has come!
No comments:
Post a Comment