The Seven Immortals

My latest for The Rebel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w0BYHSJ9pI

On June 30, in 1688, William of Orange received a letter from the “Seven Immortals” inviting him to bring an army to England, oust James II and assume the throne along with his wife, James’s Protestant daughter Mary.

The “Immortals” were aristocratic toffs, Earls, Viscounts and Bishops, not the sort we’d expect to champion the rights of ordinary people. Indeed not people whose names we can recall today without Googling.

But they were statesman who crossed party lines and risked reputation, estate and life to defend the liberty of citizens. Whereas today the studiously common-touch politicians we elect by mass voting are partisan hacks who continually expand the powers of the state.

Perhaps we should recall the Seven Immortals after after all.

The audio-only version is available here: [podcast title="Rebel, June 30"]http://www.thejohnrobson.com/podcast/John2016/June/160630Rebel.mp3[/podcast]