Having studied and taught comparative revolutions for over 30 years I am keenly aware of where they go wrong.

Crane Brinton’s Anatomy of Revolution is still very much worth reading. If our comparison is the French Revolution, is Trump Louis XVI, Robespierre, or Napoleon?

It is far easier to tear down idolatrous statues than to build a just society.

Biden, Harris, Pelosi, and Obama are moving as fast as the American political system allows them to go.

My hunch is that the next 10 years will be very favorable for progressive goals. But moving too fast will provoke another reaction.

Our social fabric needs to be painstakingly mended one difficult conversation at a time. We don’t even share the same story of our country. This will be the work of generations.

The alternative is to disband the Union as a failed experiment or another Civil War.

My preference is peaceful conversation while insisting on truth, justice, and accountability. But that is not my call.

Lincoln said with charity for all and malice towards none. That is the difficult path towards freedom.