Guest Column: The real American Revolution…when the rifle fire started

Guest Column: The real American Revolution…when the rifle fire started

BY TOM H. HASTINGS As someone who studies and tries to practice nonviolence, it is frankly tiresome to hear the endless refrains of triumphalism when honoring the American Revolution as a violent chapter in human history. John Adams was there. His conclusion, as a participant and eyewitness, was that the period of at least a decade leading up to the start of rifle-fire was the real revolution. “An History of Military operations from April 19, 17…