6 July

Studying history gives whole new perspectives to the present. Right now the US is like ancient Rome. Rome had a republic, what we’d call a democracy today. It was a complete disaster, nothing but violence and blood and death. Then it had a 200-year period of peace unlike anything else in Western history, called the Pax Romana. During that time it was led by 5 emperors, the last of which (Marcus Aurelius) was portrayed in Gladiator, speaking to Russ in the pic. His son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), was a tyrant and disaster, ending this golden period in Roman history. Trump is very much like Commodus, a vulgar populist with no brains and interested only in himself. Some running for local government this year see him as a hero.