I’m now at the point where I have to conside that the elections in November will be:
1) disrupted to the point where they won’t be seen as legitimate by a sizable portion of the electorate
2) Trump refusing to concede, if he loses

And a rise in risk of civil violence.

I’m not sure where I put the likelihood of either of those events but up to this point in my life, they had essentially a 0% chance (in my opinion) for presidential elections.

I see how things get worse...or limp along. I’m not sure I see a clear path to ‘better’.

I’ve been surprised at how this erosion of the Republic has hit me personally. I’ve spent most of my adult life in its service because, warts and all, I think it contains the potential to overcome its deficiencies.

And yet, so many of my fellow citizens don’t see what I do.

As a kid with an interest in history, I’d often wonder ‘Did Romans in the 5th century know things were irrevocably falling apart or think that they just needed to get past this one bad patch.’

I fear I’m learning the answer to that.

Oh boy, this thread is grim, but, I was thinking about a phone call I had with a friend on this topic last night.

So I’ll close out with a quote from Epictetus.