The Butterfly Revolution Analysis

Benjamin Franklin once said “[t]hose who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” The message Franklin was trying to convey is that liberty is a gift, and it should not be used as a bargaining chip for ones personal desires. His warning to all about the value of vital rights is not just right-wing propaganda, but rather a warning with truth behind it. Throughout history many people have given total devotion to a ruler in hopes of belonging to something larger then them. In both the cult of the Peoples Temple of Jonestown, and the novel The Butterfly Revolution people sacrifice their basic rights in hopes of a better life, to join something larger then themselves only to find …show more content…
When people initially swear blind allegiance to a cause or a person, it seems as a risk free action. They believe in the cause and cannot comprehend that the idea would ever fail. The fault in this is that people assume nothing will change about their cause forever, and that they will always agree what the leader says in order to aid the cause. In The Butterfly Revolution members of the revolution were so committed and loyal to the cause that one member suggested “we [the members of the revolution] should all take loyalty oaths, to swear loyalty to the revolution for as long as it lasts.” This idea basically sealed their fates and voluntarily handed over their lives and all of their freedoms to the revolution itself and the leaders. The results of swearing allegiance to the revolution gave the leader Frank absolute power that is a very dangerous thing. One concerned camper noted “Frank just kind of takes things upon himself and people obey… it’s something about Frank Reilly himself.” It is very dangerous when people do not have free will and have handed it over to another person. In Jonestown, when people devoted their whole life to the People’s Temple and Jim Jones, their blind loyalty and allegiance came back to haunt them. A former member of the People’s Temple recalled in an interview “we were demonstrating loyalty all the time. Coming there, being there in the meetings, sitting, listening — you know, supporting, working.” The member believed that in return for their loyalty to Jim Jones and the People’s Church that they would be granted utopian lives they had always dreamed of. In reality this blind obedience and loyalty formed a dangerous dystopia. Former member of the People’s Temple, Neva Sly Hargrave, recalled the consequences of this so called loyalty