Haze on the Horizon

Interstate 24 was oddly devoid of westbound congestion as we headed home from Athens, TN yesterday. Our road trip was one of curiosity as to what, if any, commemorations would signify the 75^th anniversary of a very odd conflict in our nations’ history: the 1946 Battle of Athens.

My 15-year-old son, my 3-year-old daughter, and I had made the day trip to get a better understanding of the lay of the land and the scope of the contested area as what many folks in the Army would immediately recognize as a “staff ride.” I had recently finished Chris DeRose’s finely researched 2020 book The Fighting Bunch: The Battle of Athens and How World War II Veterans Won the Only Successful Armed Rebellion Since the Revolution, and I found myself both impressed at the temerity of the Veterans who challenged a corrupt local political machine and distressed that it could have easily been the first example of precedence where an unfavorable political outcome was overruled by a force of arms.

In the case of why this particular story – and, at the time of this writing, that moment 75 years ago now – resonates, Eleanor Roosevelt’s reflections on that event more than suffice:

If a political machine does not allow the people free expression, then freedom-loving people lose their faith in the machinery under which their government functions.

[…]

The most powerful machine cannot exist without the support of the people.

[…]

If we want to continue to be a mature people who, at home and abroad, settle our difficulties peacefully and not through the use of force, then we will take to heart this lesson and we will jealously guard our rights. What goes on before an election, the threats or persuasion by political leaders, may be bad but it cannot prevent the people from really registering their will if they wish to.

The decisive action which has just occurred in our midst is a warning, and one which we cannot afford to overlook.

Back in April, I offered one of the most apt (and accidental) quotes I have come across over the years:

When you choose violence, you must accept violence in return.

This is the heart of the problem I have been wrestling with during my reading about Athens: that an escalation usually becomes a compounding issue. In “Causality,” I touched upon this idea as well:

The same behavior which is permissible as a form of redress and protest one day eventually will become a threat to the safety and order of another day.

History, and those who find the smell of antique books an opiate and the penned ideas/descriptions of times and people long past, requires deliberate interpretation. However, it also serves as potential warning signs for those paying attention when a path becomes familiar.

As we discussed this on the interstate, I noted the hazy hills of the Appalachian and the Cumberland mountains in the distance:

History is like those hills – to the dangerously naïve folks who like to wield their limited understanding of the past with casual comparisons, it’s just vaguely defined shapes on the horizon; nothing to worry about.

To those who have an idea about the branches, rocks, and whatnot which constitutes those looming shapes, however, it is something which might reflexively result in a glance at the velocity towards those distant hills and the overall situation of the moment: attitude, altitude, weight, and ability to maneuver.

Worry comes from noting that we are accelerating towards a very solid reality with a rapidly diminishing timeframe where corrections can be made to prevent what is sure to happen.

We know those branches, we know those rocks, and we are very familiar with the whatnot from previous investigations… it’s just a matter of getting the attention of everyone else on the plane; to get them to stop squabbling and realize that it won’t matter who was at fault when everyone is scattered across the terrain.

Yeah. Road trips with me can get pretty deep…

This gets me to today and my thoughts on whatever current investigations into election fraud or investigations into the events of 6Jan21 are going on…

Then what?

If there was a deliberate political manipulation…

If there was an attempted insurrection…

Again: then what?

What is the plan if the inquiries lead to where one side suspects they will?

Will it be a matter of confirmation bias or would it be impartial justice – a quest for truth ipso facto – “by the fact itself”?

Have we seen this played out in other countries before, and if so, how exactly did that work out for all involved?

Do not misconstrue my words or infer implications towards one outcome or another; nor take this as my implicit support for one party or another. To assume that this space would advocate one perspective as absolute would be to have missed the points I have made directly or indirectly over the years: both sides have their problems and both sides succeed and suck simultaneously.

Rather, take these rhetorical questions and ponder the potential answers over the next few days/weeks/months/years. Watch, listen, and consider the words – both your own and those of others – which may and may not help our situation.

Most importantly, never forget the power of e pluribus unum: “out of many, one.” Many outcomes, many contributing factors, many interpretations, and many people… all part of one nation, one failure, or (hopefully) one success… for all.