POLITICS
The Former Guy Is the New Old Guy
Without Biden as his foil, Donald is just an old man shouting at clouds
Last year, I wrote about a TikTok trend in which women asked men how often they thought about the Roman Empire. Since learning of this phenomenon, I’ve been surprised by how frequently I find myself referencing the fallen empire.
The most recent example occurred when President Joe Biden announced that he would step away from his presidential campaign.
A Legacy in split-screen
History tells us that when the Aequians threatened an invasion of Ancient Rome, the country’s Senate granted unlimited dictatorial powers to Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, a retired general. Once the attack was quelled, rather than hold on to power, Cincinnatus did something no one anticipated: he relinquished his control of the government.
Similarly, when General George Washington returned to civilian life after the Revolutionary War, rather than using the military to seize power, observers likened his actions to the example set by Cincinnatus:
The parallels with General George Washington [and Cincinnatus] were not lost on his contemporaries. Called up from his retirement at Mount Vernon to lead the Continental…
