sinesalvatorem:

On the 20th of January 2017, power will change hands in the United States. The current leader will abdicate his position and a new one will be installed. That’s right, abdicate. He isn’t even trying to prevent this. To maintain power, he has massed no armies; exiled no dissidents; and burnt no books. He’s just going to pack up and walk away.

There are several people vying to fill the gap he’ll leave. Miraculously, despite this, there are no gangs fighting in the the street to secure the power of their favourite candidate. The candidates have not been assassinating each other. In fact, the candidates haven’t even kidnapped each other’s children for ransom. It’s as if they aren’t even trying to win.

Ordinary people are openly voicing support for one leader or another. The people who brought the current leader to power are arguing over who should be his successor, but not trying to keep him on forever, or even planning an armed insurrection to support his successor. They aren’t murdering each other over who should be the successor, or even murdering their actual opponents. They’re downright peaceful.

And all of this means that, if you’re an American, then as far as the vast majority of human history is concerned, you live in a utopian fantasy world. I hope that, every now and then, you stop to appreciate where and when you are.