Resistence

Greensboro, North Carolina - More than two thousand years ago there were two resistance movements, both fighting the Roman army. One was in Britannica, the other was in Gaul, beyond the Rhine.

While the battles took place at different times, one primarily in the time of Julius Caesar, the other in the time of Augustus, they were fought with the same sort of tactics by the Romans, against the same sort of odds (greatly outnumbered) but with different success. In Britain, when the Romans landed among the black forests and rolling fields, they were met with only small resistance at first. Later, there were rebellions, and huge armies of screaming, howling, weapon wielding although maybe not clothes wearing warriors swept down on them. It did no good, and the occupiers stayed around until they wanted to leave.

Not too many years after the Romans invaded Britannica, in the steamy woods of the land beyond the Rhine, they met with disaster. Here, the people were also disunited, and at the very beginning, the Romans were able to keep them divided. But a young, Roman trained young man, named Arminius, came forth, united the people, and kept the Romans from advancing further at that time. It is said Augustus paced his palace, shouting at his dead general to give him back his legions.

During World War II, France was split between those loyal to their nation, and those that were, for all practical purposes, under the sway of the Germans. The French Resistance, although in the end it would number over a quarter of a million men, was unable to clear their land of the enemy alone, because it was a land divided.

Once a nation is conquered, such as when Britain was in 1066 by William the Conqueror, no matter how the resistance movements try, they are nearly always unable to do anything in the way of bringing back their country.

When scientific theories begin to lose followers, such as the ether theory did to Einstein's Relativity, they often soon disappear from the textbooks, and then from memory, no matter how many problems the new one may have, it has momentum, and dikes rarely stand very well once water begins to go over the top.

The best solution is not a plethora of resistance movements, it is better to have better defenses and then offences in the first place, such as the Gaels under Arminius, then to try to win back your country, such as the British under Boudica. Everyone has heard of Winston Churchill, the man who kept the German's out of Britain, not many know the names of the men who led the French Resistance, who tried to kick them out.

G. K. Chesterton said: "It is too late to cry out, when the hatchet is already in the air."

Andrew C. Abbott