What The French Revolution Did to Me
In the early weeks of January 2026, Sean Hamidi, Dean of Academics, announced to his SAS Conservative Thought in the West class that they would be participating in a French Revolution simulation. This simulation would entail fully enacting the early years of the French Revolution, and would require us to argue about what bills should end up in our constitution.
Each member of the class would be assigned a character who was a real person during this historical moment. Each character was also a part of a different political faction. There were the Jacobins, the radical leftists, the Feullaints, the in-betweeners, and the conservatives, the heavily religious and rich far right. I was made a conservative. Little did I know this would be the start of one of the most complex inner battles I would have in my lifetime.
Being a conservative immediately put a target on my back. The majority of the people in the room leaned towards radicalism. Nobody believed in a monarchy, nobody wanted to uphold the ideals of the Catholic Church, and nobody wanted anything to stay the same. Within my faction, I was powerless. I couldn’t call upon foreign armies and I didn’t have the monetary resources that several of the nobles did. I was in a dire position. The first game session went terribly; I lost almost all my victory objectives within the hour. I went home feeling devastated, Bible in hand. Why did nobody want to agree with me? Was I a bad person for believing this deeply in God and the monarchy? Why was I all of a sudden everyone’s enemy? I felt worthless. I felt like I was failing not only my victory objectives, but also the entire class. I had put so much effort into that first speech just for it to sway nobody’s views on The Civil Constitution of the Clergy.
The next few game sessions went exactly the same as the first. Speeches, arguments, and bills rooted in sin were consistently passed. I could feel my self-confidence melting away. Luckily, the night of game session three I had a therapy appointment. I spent the entire fifty-minute session explaining all my complex feelings about the French Revolution to my poor therapist. Then, she said something I had never thought of before. She said something along the lines of, “Olive, you know this isn’t real, right?” What? My mind was completely blown. I had been walking around for the past several weeks acting like the French Revolution was happening in the year of our Lord 2026. I ended the therapy call with a new perspective. None of this was real! My life wasn’t in danger! The Jacobins weren’t standing behind me, guillotine at the ready. I called my mother into my room to discuss this very important development.
What started as a conversation about the French Revolution turned into a two hour crying session featuring both my parents, with special appearances by Lafayette and Jean-Sifrein Maury. Up until that moment, I hadn’t realized how much this simulation had affected me. I couldn't tell if I was a conservative or not. My political beliefs–which up to that point had felt stable and concrete–had completely shifted. I don’t believe in monarchy, but during this simulation I felt as if my life would end if I didn’t get the king back in power. Somehow, my political ideas had merged with my in-class character, and I was unable to distinguish between what was his and what was mine.
The French Revolution broke me. It made me completely rethink everything I knew about myself and what I believe in. I know that I am not conservative, but now I have lived the experience of a conservative man, and I feel I can better see where he’s coming from.
Change is scary. It can be scary to see the entire world as you know it fall apart around you. I’m sure that’s what a lot of conservatives during the time period were feeling. This simulation was hard. It tore me up inside. It made me rethink everything. Overall though, minus the tears and immense stress, I learned a lot. I don’t think I would be as open to listening and understanding other opinions if it wasn’t for this simulation. While some opinions conservatives have might be wrong, I think it’s still good to understand where they’re coming from. Thanks Sean! Vive la France!