We will be back in some form.
Donald Trump, January 20
* * *
Trump is not Napoleon. The United States is not France. The 19th century is not the 21st.
And yet.
Napoleon was born a Corsican, under the umbrella of Genoa. He was loyal to Italy until he saw greater opportunities with the French. He switched parties.
Corsica is not Manhattan. Paris is not Washington.
And yet.
The Revolutionary government in France was unpopular. The masses were angry. Napoleon betook himself to Paris.
Napoleon was charismatic. He hoodwinked the electorate. He squelched the assembly of legislators. He was proclaimed First Consul. In December 1804, he crowned himself emperor—with the pope’s blessing.
The pope is not Jerry Falwell Jr.
And yet.
In 1813 Napoleon straggled back to Paris from his catastrophic military defeat in Russia, claiming victory. Britain, Austria, and Prussia were poised to invade France. And just like that, fact trumped fiction. Yielding to public pressure—and with the guillotine glistening—Napoleon abdicated.
The European allies sent him packing to Elba, a small island off the western coast of Italy. To humor him, the British granted him a pension, a sizable staff, and a title: Sovereign of Elba.
Napoleon bided his time.
Louis XVIII now ruled France. The reign of the Bourbons was restored. But it lacked luster (and liberality). The people grumbled. The grumble reached Elba.
Napoleon slipped off the island and back to France. He wended his way to Paris. Village after village cheered him on. The savior of the nation had returned. The army defected from Louis XVIII one battalion after another.
In Paris Napoleon received a hero’s welcome. He reclaimed his crown, rebuilt the army, and set off gallantly to Belgium to crush the forces poised to remove him again. He met his Waterloo. He hobbled back to Paris, claiming victory again.
But the French had wised up. They’d seen enough. The defrocked (and corpulent) emperor was exiled to St. Helena. He never came back.
Impeachment is not exile. Mar-a-Lago is not St. Helena.
It doesn’t matter.
Biden is president. Kamala Harris is vice president. Democracy is restored.
The long, cold, lonely winter is over.
On Wednesday America found what it had lost—sheer joy. We saw smiles returning to faces—from sea to shining sea.
Lady Gaga sang our national anthem.
America stood up.
The sun shone.
Our flag waved.
I wept.
Ahh, sweet mystery of life:)
Thanks, Great analogy. I was hoping Biden would help heal as he proclaimed but I see him cancelling Executive Orders because he disliked Trump and not for the good of the country. I hope he hasn’t joined the group of DEMS that are “haters”. We have enough haters on both sides of the aisle so we don’t need a leader who says he is trying to restore Democracy to become one. How can Democracy be restored without the Congress?
What a nice treat on Sunday morning– thank you! I have never much cared for the war infused anthem until Lady Gaga’s spectacular treatment. As for sunshine, it was breathtaking in the person and poetry of Amanda Gorman. Tears will arrive unbidden for a long time at the memory of it all.
Unfortunately Trump still has lots of “true believers.” We are still vulnerable and must remain alert.
There was a tear in many an eye on Wednesday. Flags waved; the American democratic experiment would live to fight another day. Illiberal rallies at state capitals failed to materialize; the rising of defecting troops protecting DC failed to appear. There was no wholesale execution of blood sucking, pedophile, commie loving Democrats. And yet … Vigilance remains the order of the day. The unspeakable menace that slouched toward Bethlehem to be born remains crouched in south Florida. Undemocratic minions still threaten the land. And yet … There was an unbearable sense of lightness that followed Air Force-1 into a rising sun. ? The real work has only just begun.
Thank you; brilliant response.
Yes, sobering — both the history and the current reality. As we (well, perhaps half the country) emerge from our shared entrenched PTSD, there is this ominous awareness of how easily duped we can be, how “reality” is so contingent on our easily swayed perceptions (and access to information). Although I was glued to the TV this past Wednesday and felt this lifting of dread and anguish, yet I find it difficult to stop inwardly shaking.
Reading this morning’s offering and the comments reminded me that we, as individuals, must retain responsibility as agents of change and not rely too heavily on some so called savior. I feel that by the time someone has reached adulthood we can get a pretty good handle on that person’s character. One reason I could not understand how DT was so revered by so many. I liked the one comment about emerging from collective PTSD. I’m not sure we are there yet. Prayer helps.
History repeats itself. Let us hope it doesn’t take us twice to learn the lesson, even with other wolves hiding in sheep’s clothing. How do we move from de-evolution to evolution?
I use to fall asleep in History class. Witnessing the swearing in of Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris, my soul rejoiced and I could once again feel an reawakening of hope that had been buried the last 4 years. I too shed tears of gratitude. Onward and upward!
America! Thanks for sending us in Florida your poor, your tired, your defrocked yearning to breathe fire again. We may have to declare our independence from your pitiful Union of cowards who refused to recognize the massive victory stolen from our fearless leader. When we have dispatched you, our royal family will reclaim their right to rule with absolute authority and familial mercy upon our masses of tomato pickers. Ivanka awaits her Senate seat. “Good night and thank you, dear Rubio! You’ve completed your task. No more can we ask of you now.” Donald Jr. aspires to the Governor’s chair. Resist if you dare, dear DeSantis, but in Trump World you have no clout. Loyalty is a one-way street, and it’s time to take your one-way OUT! For you young Baron, you will become the leader of the Trump Youth Brigades, and protector of the 2nd Amendment rights of all children to bare arms against their parents. It’s a brand new world in Florida!
Ah, and not to forget the performance poetry of Amanda Gorman, aged 22, who plans to run for President in 2036
I never watched inaugurations—until this one. I wept and felt joyous relief at the changing of the guard. Let us all strive to be the light!
Thank you for the Napoleonic history and parallels. Chilling stuff. Trumpty Dumpty needs most definitely to be exiled, defanged and defrocked. We could start by keeping him in one of those cages the children were ‘housed’ in and that could eventually, after some serious time for reflection, be followed by housing in some federal prison. All of the Republicans and ex/current military and police who planned, enabled and participated in the attempted overthrow of our government need to be removed from office, dismissed from the military or police, prosecuted. Otherwise, this coup will inspire more of the same.
This quote has been on my desk for the past couple of years as I considered whether or not to post it. This seems an appropriate time. I ran across it in the prologue to a biographical novel of Napoleon. “I am not like other men. The commonly accepted rules of morality and propriety do not apply to me.” And yes, Lady Gaga was truly spectacular in every sense. We will keep Amanda on our radar. What promise!
I wept at both inaugurations. It’s amazing how tears of joy (now) taste the same as tears of despair (then). And yet, there is much to be done – and many conversations to be had with my friends who voted for Trump this second time around.