Learning from history

 There's not much good to be said about being old, at least not in my view. All of life's major  milestones are past, except for the final one. You're just kinda siting around the finish line waiting to see what if anything happens next. Sure, there's still things to enjoy but for most of what life has to offer you've got the 'been there done that' tee shirt. But there is one consolation to having lived a long life. Us older folks won't be around to see the downfall of the United States of America. Can't happen you say, not the good old US of A. Well, it can happen, it will happen, and a good case can be made that it's already started. 

History shows us that in ancient times there were a dozen of so empires beginning with Egypt in 3100 bc, that ruled the known world and that lasted for at least 500 years and some much longer. The USA, at 246 years is a baby on the longevity scale. There have been some 15 empires in the AD era that rose only to fall. And a curious circumstance is that nearly all of these empires declined not because of outside factors such as a military invasion, but because they disintegrated from the inside. They turned on themselves. And yet I'll bet that at the height of their power each citizen scoffed at the notion that their country would sometime in the future be either a third-rate piece of ground or even non-existent. 

Today, on the global scene Putin is trying to resurrect the Soviet Socialist Republic; in China the Emperor has just set himself up for life; Iran and Belarus are siding with the Russian invasion, and some Republicans in this country are talking about scaling back support for Ukraine. The United Nations and NATO support Ukraine financially while condemning Russia's aggression, but stop short of fighting side by side with Ukrainian troops. In my view this situation is a prelude to a vast change in the world order, a change that does not bode well for democracy and the free world.

Here in the United States we're engaged in an internal war, a war that is testing whether democracy can survive in this young nation of ours. I've given my opinion many times on this blog as to why the war exists and each day I grow more firm in my conviction. In the beginning Germany had Hitler and his Brown Shirts challenging democracy. Today we have Trump and his MAGA cult followers. The far right has hijacked the Republican Party. Reason, responsibility, accountability, civility and moral behavior are cast aside. Lies, hate, misinformation and mob agitation have replaced them.

In many states early voting has started. Georgians will elect Marjorie Greene to the 14th Congressional District with probably 80 to 85% of the vote. She is a hateful woman who makes absurd claims, never backed with proof or logic, and whose credo appears to be 'execute the opposition'. At this writing it appears that those same voters will support Hershel Walker for Senator. That he is a proven habitual liar, is a man who can't string three words together to make a coherent sentence and has absolutely no qualifications to be a Senator doesn't matter. He is a Republican and is Trump endorsed as is Marjorie Greene. Voting for either one of them is to me the new definition of insanity.

The world is changing. The United States is changing. Neither is for the better. I feel sorry for the younger people who will have to see and experience it.