Storming the capitol, a lesson from old Rome
Americans were glued to their television sets last Wednesday as they watched pro-Trump protesters storm the U.S. Capitol drawing quick rebukes from most, but not all, politicians. The demonstrators’ goals don’t seem entirely clear other than they were and are upset with the election results and wanted to interrupt congressional proceedings.
During the process, violence erupted, police were overwhelmed, and for a short time, the protesters seized and defiled part of the Capitol building a sacrosanct structure representing the promise and hope of America. Eventually, they were cleared from the complex, and in the aftermath [1], at least five people laid dead, dozens were arrested and at least 14 law enforcement officers suffered injuries.
The fall of the Roman republic is a warning about today’s degenerate populists It’s not just the events this week in Washington, as Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, that should worry us, but the erosion of norms they represent. Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Pro-Trump supporters storm the US Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on 6 January 2021 in Washington, DC When Tiberius Gracchus was elected tribune of the people in 133 BC, the Roman republic was a democracy, of sorts. Little more than 100 years later, it was neither a democracy nor a republic. At risk of sounding hysterical, the fall of the republic holds more lessons today than feels entirely comfortable.