Eternal vigilance

It has been said that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. While the results of the mid-term elections could be considered a mixed bag, the fact that the expected red wave did not materialize suggests a rejection by the electorate of election denial, conspiracy theories and other extreme positions espoused by some Republican candidates. My belief in the power of middle-of-the-roaders was reinforced as moderation seems to have prevailed in the face of a big turn-out by voters of both major parties. The election of Rafael Warnock to a 6 year term in the Senate was another much-needed shot in the arm for the forces of sanity. The results of the election almost but not quite overwhelmed news of the series of defeats meted by the Judicial Branch to former President Trump's efforts to keep himself out of legal trouble as he declared his candidacy for the 2024 race. So much for the good news. The loss of the House majority by the Democrats does not bode well for the Biden administration's remaining 2 years. And the Supreme Court possibly upholding the North Carolina legislature's "Independent Legislature Theory" has the potential to wipe out all the good news. Elsewhere in the world, the election of a Mussolini sympathizer as Prime Minister of Italy and the uncovering of a plot by hundreds of German police and security forces to violently overthrow the government should give us all pause. Who would have thought that Peru would provide a glimmer of hope in this regard? When President Castillo of Peru tried to dissolve parliament in a Trumpian effort to head off his own impeachment, parliament impeached and removed him from office within hours, placed him under arrest and installed Vice-President Boluarte in his place. Such swift justice is unrealistic in the US where more than 2 years after 1/6/20, the chief culprit of that outrage is free to peddle his mischief and continues to undermine one of the two major parties.

The point of this post is neither "We're fine" nor "All is lost". Rather, it is that preserving the way of life - government of, by and for the people - that we have grown accustomed to and taken for granted requires constant effort. In other words - eternal vigilance.