The winners and losers are often certain that victory will bring significant and enduring changes to the nation. Both are usually wrong.
…..and that is a good thing and what makes America great.
The celebrations sometimes lasted for days, and while they lasted, the general and his family were the subjects of devotion and obedience by the citizens. As a warning and a reminder during this celebration, however, one of the general’s servants was charged with reminding his master from time to time that “memento mori” (“remember, you must die”) — that is, his eventual death was inevitable.
Here in the United States, in the wake of all elections, especially presidential elections, we rush to conclude that the winning side will advance from victory to victory, and all of their efforts will result in unalloyed achievements. We even grant presidential winners a triumph on Inauguration Day as they process down Pennsylvania Avenue with their family members and retinue in tow and onlookers shower them with applause.
The winners, as they did in the days of Roman hegemony, appear invincible and nearly immortal. We are at that moment in the ascendance of President-elect Donald Trump and his team, which is made especially sharp by his victory not only over his rival in the presidential contest but also over a system that seemed set on his destruction. He and his political movement seem invincible.
But everything in this world has a limit, and the fortunes of American elected officials and their policy preferences are no exception. Winning does not breed complacency or incompetence; it is that the laws of gravity and probability and the relentless nature of diminishing time eventually catch up with us all.
Or, as the Romans might say, memento mori, no matter who or what you might be.
…..and that is a good thing and what makes America great.
Why winning elections never guarantees lasting change in America
For almost a thousand years, victorious Roman generals were celebrated in a “triumph” or ritual procession through the heart of Rome.The celebrations sometimes lasted for days, and while they lasted, the general and his family were the subjects of devotion and obedience by the citizens. As a warning and a reminder during this celebration, however, one of the general’s servants was charged with reminding his master from time to time that “memento mori” (“remember, you must die”) — that is, his eventual death was inevitable.
Here in the United States, in the wake of all elections, especially presidential elections, we rush to conclude that the winning side will advance from victory to victory, and all of their efforts will result in unalloyed achievements. We even grant presidential winners a triumph on Inauguration Day as they process down Pennsylvania Avenue with their family members and retinue in tow and onlookers shower them with applause.
The winners, as they did in the days of Roman hegemony, appear invincible and nearly immortal. We are at that moment in the ascendance of President-elect Donald Trump and his team, which is made especially sharp by his victory not only over his rival in the presidential contest but also over a system that seemed set on his destruction. He and his political movement seem invincible.
But everything in this world has a limit, and the fortunes of American elected officials and their policy preferences are no exception. Winning does not breed complacency or incompetence; it is that the laws of gravity and probability and the relentless nature of diminishing time eventually catch up with us all.
Or, as the Romans might say, memento mori, no matter who or what you might be.