January 10, 49 BC, Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon River and mounted an armed insurrection against the Roman Republic. Winning the civil war, Caesar declared himself “emperor for life.” After five centuries of being governed by political representation, Rome became ruled by an Emperor.
January 6, 2021, President Donald J. Trump addressed MAGA Minions and mounted an armed insurrection against America’s Capitol, Congress, and Constitution. Winning his civil war, Donald intended to declare himself President, probably for life. Fortunately, sanity and Democracy carried the day!
Again, I take heart in Samwise Gamgee’s wisdom.
“By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad has happened? But in the end it’s only a passing thing this shadow. Even darkness must pass.”
Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
J.R.R. Tolkien