The Second Time American Democracy Brakes Down

The first time American democracy broke down was of course in 1861 when eleven Southern States seceded from the Union. This rupture is estimated to have cost the lives of 600,000 Americans in civil war at a time when the nation’s population was only 31,000,000 — a huge chunk of the citizenry.

Of course at that time nuclear weapons were still in the distant future, so now the risks are much greater when our democracy crumbles, not only for America but the world as well.

At present, it would appear that Donald J. Trump’s campaign to make himself look strong and Secretary Clinton look week is finally gaining serious traction. So perhaps “shooting from the hip Trump” will soon get the chance to play nuclear chicken with his new best friend Vladimir Putin. A game we all get to participate in if (more likely when) either one of them or both miscalculate.

Apparently a lot of folks feeling that they have little to lose in life are blithely willing to back the crazy Donald in his romp though the world’s minefield. They either don’t care about life or are too ill informed to understand the risk of a Trump presidency.

Now a Hillary presidency will be abysmal for sure, but at least the chances for the world surviving another four years is a pretty good bet — trump not so much.

So if the Donald gets the nod, be prepared to make final arrangements, for a second breakdown of our democracy most likely it will be the last.