Caesar at the Rubicon

Dear Editor,

Julius Caesar and his formidable Roman army crossed the Rubicon River in 49 BC. It was a momentous thing to do. Even today, people describe an important decision or event as “crossing the Rubicon,” especially if there is no easy way to undo the result. In ancient Rome, the illegal crossing meant the end of its functioning democracy and the beginning of its military empire.

We see in Donald Trump another ambitious tyrant, ready to use his nation’s troops to control areas within his own country. His assaults against a free press and the nation’s colleges are obvious. In some cases, our Constitution is all there is left to preserve a democracy that used to be “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

We can see this erosion in our foreign policy as well. With 800 military bases overseas and a trillion dollars each year devoted to making war, we are fighting in any number of conflicts and “shadow wars” in the rest of the world. Again, our Constitution is at risk, since it stipulates that “only Congress has the sole power to declare war.” The genocide of this century is being waged with US planes and bombs, but without a declaration of war. Our would be tyrant is now deciding on whether to invade Venezuela, our Constitution be damned.

In history, empires have often replaced democracy with tyranny. Who would have thought that we would ever be at the banks of the Rubicon.

Fred Nagel