There's no doubt about your thesis that history continues to repeat itself. For man is a short-sighted creature at best, and we cannot understand the trouble and triumphs of past generations fully - not having lived through them ourselves.
"Oh, this time it IS different" we love to shout, to whomever will listen, and mostly to those who wish to agree with us. And it IS different, if only because the stage is filled with a different set of actors. Yet the play has already been written and rehearsed, and the final act will remain the same.
While modern political rhetoric is certainly troubling there are other troubles in our republic. The rise to power of those who are meant to entertain us - actors and actresses - adept at the art of pulling at our emotions, through subterfuge and the adoption of a persona meant to achieve their own ends. So too we have the large group of those who have become lulled into sleep by these actors and actresses, who haven't even the slightest idea of the discourse occurring among our lawmakers, and how they have been slowly, silently, but relentlessly gutting the laws made "For the People".
Oh yes, war could come to us, in fact we seem to invite it, but I do not believe our people have the backbone to bring it of themselves. Instead it will more likely come from outside ourselves, and will either cause our country to be reborn from ashes, or to sink into the miasma of history - to be repeated again and added to the list - Athens, Rome, America.
@moneyinfant,
I couldn't agree with you more.
I would stipulate, however, that this ought not be simply a dig at Trump (I'm not inferring that this is what you intended ... I'm riffing). Republicans and Democrats alike need to stop "giving a damn about what celebrities think." Since when was Hollywood notorious for it's brilliance or insight about anything?
I have nothing against actors or musicians becoming politicians, but let them first demonstrate their prowess as Congressmen, Congresswomen, Senators or Governors before taking a shot at the White House.
The country, and the world, requires serious people thinking, and doing, serious things. Politics is not supposed to be entertaining. It's supposed to be about doing those things which make the country more functional ... almost all of which are tedious and boring.
If there is one thing I could wish upon American politics, it would be the banning of monetary contributions to campaigns in excess of $2,500 per person. And, contributions from any source, could only come from human beings. No PAC's or Super-PAC's on either side. No contributions from Fortune 500 companies and no contributions from unions. I would happily support giving both sides $1 billion each of taxpayer money, to run their campaigns, so as to negate the need for politicians to grovel for gratuities.
Money, on both sides, is clearly a corrupting influence.