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THE FRENCH REVOLUTION & AMERICAN NEUTRALITY

Now, when we salute our national flag,

Of those star and those stripes we often do brag

Of the model they set for the world to see:

The twin hopes of freedom and democracy.

And in 1789 over in France

Word passed all around to now seize the chance!

To take arms and to stage a revolt of their own

-- Europe’s future had come, and it glimmered and shone!

And Tom Jefferson, who was Secretary of State,

Sought out support for the French in their Fate,

As les gens took to the streets, to demand a new way:

Of liberte, egalite, et fraternite.

And recalling those days when France came to our aid,

Some thought that a debt could now be repaid.

But as event in Paris turned bloody and brutal,

Many other advised to stay even and neutral.

As French nobles were first, followed by King and by Queen

To have their head chopped off by the guillotine!

While the friendship we owed to the French nation-state,

We owed to King Louis --- alas, now missing one pate.

And with Europe in throes half the world away

It seemed good advice to keep out of the fray.

For this tender young land had its own scars to heal,

And a part in more violence had but little appeal.

So Washington proclaimed, and he struck a deep chord,

In the wars of the world, we should not raise a sword.

And unless forced to fight, we ought keep as our plan:

To stay friends with all nations... as much as we can.

And to not be entangled in foreign relations,

But to prosper and grow in calm isolation,

Was the last bit of wisdom he took time to express,

When after eight years, George gave his Farewell Address.