We celebrate this, the day Jesus was definitely NOT born, and we call it Christmas. I’d like to ask, if the day Jesus was NOT born is ‘Christmas,’ isn’t every day but one, Christmas? I mean, if we’re going to pick a random day for recognition, let’s pick one in Spring, say, April 30th. We declare THAT the day Jesus was born, and for that ONE day only, everyone would put away their Christmas decorations and hide the gifts and keep the wishes of the season to themselves. Then, the next day, we put it all back up again for the next 364 days! Year-round Christmas, each day recognizing the day Jesus wasn’t born. What a lovely tradition it could be…

This is fascinating. I’m a person who believes history repeats in roughly 80 year cycles. That’s a VERY abstract statement. History doesn’t ‘repeat’ in a detailed sense. But large events often do. It’s also important to note that it’s not a perfect 80, either. That’s an average. It could be 70, it could be 90, but it averages to 80 and sometimes, it hits right on. Let’s look at some world-changing events, shall we?

The American Revolution started in 1776. THAT, in and of itself, was NOT a world-changing event. Nations rising up against oppressive occupation by the world’s greatest super-power, the United Kingdom, was kind of common. The efforts usually failed. For decades, the sun never set on the British empire. So I look to 1781.

1781 is the year the Americans defeated the British and won their independence. Now THAT was a world-changing event. We had beaten the greatest power on Earth. It took awhile but we managed to unleash a NEW, even greater power, the United States of America, and that certainly, for better or worse, changed the world. So, watch this: 1781+80. Hey, that’s 1861.

1861 was the start of the American Civil War. Yeah, it took four years to play out but the start of the war, in an effort to put an end to slavery throughout the colonies, was unprecedented, a world-changing event. Nobody knew who was going to win but, either way, the world as it had been in 1860 was no more. Either slavery would be enshrined in the Confederacy or eliminated entirely, affecting – even harming – huge swaths of the economy. (I have no tears for the “harmed” slave trade or the plantation owners…) But let’s continue. 1861+80. OMG, 1941.

December 7, 1941 is the date the United States was drawn into World War II in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. This one might be a bit myopic since the war in Europe had been raging for several years by then and my focus is on the US entering. But I think the US entrance to the war was a deciding factor in how the war played out. The events in Germany with the Nazis and the war that finally put them down absolutely, undeniably changed the world. That one, too, took about four years to play out, after we got in. It created the American hegemony. We became the most powerful force on Earth and, for a time, we handled that responsibility well. Sadly, it’s only a short step from hegemon to empire and it wasn’t long before we were “protecting American interests” all over the newly and completely transformed world. So we continue. 1941+80. Holy gods, that’s 2021.

I don’t think I’m out too far out on a limb to suggest that January 6th, 2021 was a world-changing day. For the first time in the history of our once-great nation, a sitting President refused the results of a fair and honest election and orchestrated a coup attempt that included a physical attack on the Capitol building, ridiculous legal challenges (sans evidence), and illegal pressure on election officials to count pretend votes. Whatever respect the United States still retained in the eyes of the world was just…tossed into the waste bin by one narcissistic megalomaniac. Millions of Americans suddenly started insisting true was false and false was true – and then getting furious if you didn’t play along.

In ONE DAY, America was transformed from the most stable democracy on the planet to something of a banana republic in which an insane (or at least very stupid) wanna-be dictator tried to seize power based on a lie. TWO centuries of peaceful transfers of power just…tossed aside casually by people too self-absorbed, too stupid, to understand the damage they were doing. And still, this one plays out.

The birth of our nation took about 8 years to unfold. (The war ended in 1781. Washington was first inaugurated to the Presidency on April 30, 1789. See? There’s ALWAYS something special about April 30…) At the time, the emergence of the United States on the world was a good thing so, while it took awhile to get going, the world-changing upheaval was for the better.

The American Civil War played out over the course of four years. Yes, many in the south have remained whiny, little bitches about their loss ever since but despite their whinging, the American Civil War ended well for the nation and the world. It was a great move forward for humanity, a world-changing event that changed the world for the better.

World War II is harder to define. The American participation lasted, again, a little over four years. (Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945, but the Japanese fought on until August.) On the up side, we smacked fascism down hard. We didn’t eliminate Nazis but we left them cowering in the darkest corners, where they belong. Germany became a great nation, a force for good in the world. It can hardly be disputed, the good guys won. The world benefited from that win for decades to come.

The American Revolution took place because a bad guy, a despot, wanted to maintain control over “his” colonies – but the good guys won. The American Civil War started because greedy, evil people wanted to maintain “ownership” of human beings for profit – but the good guys won. WWII started because evil fascists wanted to control the world and impose their authoritarian new world order – but the good guys won. On average, it took about 5 years for these horrific, world-changing events to play out.

Now we get Trump’s 2021 coup attempt. It’s still playing out. (January 6th, 2024 will be three years in.) No one knows how it will end. The insurrection did so much damage to the reputation of the United States in the eyes of the world, it has already been a world-changing event. There is a strong force pushing the wrong side. But the battle, this one legal more than bloody so far, continues. If history is any indicator, the good guys will win. But not without great cost and great sacrifice.

80 years. I hope any survivors of climate change are ready for 2101…

On that happy note (hey, the good guys win) MyBaconPress would like to wish each and every one of you (okay, you) a wonderful, happy, very merry Christmas. (Or Saturnalia, if that’s what you’re into…)