A brief history lesson...

It's been said that "Those who cannot learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it."

Of course if you're gonna vote Democrat in November you don't believe that.  I mean, what the hell could history possibly teach a cool kid like you, eh?  It's just silly, right?  Cuz hey, the New York Times said the U.S. was founded in 1619, not 1776, and the Times--like all hip Mainstream Media papers--would never lie to us.  So there ya go, boomer!

Ah.  What can one possibly do to rebut such blinding brilliance, eh?

Well here ya go:  Some amateur historian attempted to answer the question "What accounted for the success of the Roman empire?"  He identified several characteristics.  Here's his take:

The Roman empire was strongest when it was a republic.  To maintain power in a republic a leader must deliver policy success not only to his supporters but also to the public at large.  By providing universally popular policies Roman policiticians could get more votes. By contrast an emperor doesn't have to provide policy success to voters, but just to his supporters.  Thus there's no incentive to provide universal policies that appeal to everyone.

In an authoritarian regime the military is the police force and does whatever the emperor orders.  By contrast, in a democratic regime the military protects the state, including the legislature.  It's a subtle but huge difference.  In a democracy (like the U.S.) the military is outside politics, so it remains effective even when the political leadership changes radically.

Conservatives and republics emphasize education.  You'd think that would be a good policy for emperors too, but surprisingly it's not.  Emperors and dictators aren't strong supporters of universal education because educated people are quicker to rebel if they see they're being played by the leader.  They become harder to manage--a threat to the regime.  Also, better educated people make notably better soldiers--and more importantly officers.  You train experts who can design and built better fortifications, better logistics, and more effective strategy. 

In a dictatorship or empire, an officer's career depends on the politician at the top.  But in a republic, since the military is outside politics it makes a good career for people. Career soldiers are notably better than drafted soldiers.  Also, since the military in a republic is outside politics they can train more. 

When a threat to the state appears, democracies will fight to the death and spend whatever it takes to survive.  They have a huge stake in the survival of their home nation.  By contrast, soldiers in a dictatorship don't have the same resolve: the regular soldier recognizes he doesn't have a huge stake in the outcome.  He's less likely to fight to maintain the status of the dictator.

So how does any of this ancient history affect us, eh? 

Well as many have noted, one of our nation's major political parties has decided the path to winning involves encouraging riots, burning and looting, in effect giving their voters "free shit"instead of trying to appeal to a broader coalition of voters.  They've made it cool to burn our flag, to kneel for our national anthem.  They exalt homosexuals and men claiming to be women, and introduce bills to give those groups special rights.  Not designed to instill strong positive national identity.

They smugly encourage mobs of young people to destroy statues of our nation's first president--who declined to be named king--and of president Thomas Jefferson, who drafted much of the language of our Declaration of Independence.  When one of those statues is toppled, the leaders of the Dem party don't utter a single critical word.  (Check for yourself.)

Our public schools have ensured that millions of young Americans have no idea of the real history of this nation, or how our government works, or the ideals of the founders.  One of our two major political parties has thoroughly, relentlessly demonized the military, sneering at our troops even as they deny doing so.  Again, not likely to lead to long-term success, or even survival.

Many of the leaders of the Democrat party are demanding an end to the use of fossil fuel, an end to air travel for ordinary citizens and "guaranteed universal basic income."  And their uneducated, moronic, thoroughly unAmerican followers totally support all three proposals and more.

If the U.S. was faced with the same international situation that existed just before World War 2, is there a single American who believes we could win a two-front war today against world-class powers? 

If the U.S. was attacked by China, and Trump activated the draft, is there a single American who believes we would NOT see mass riots by BLM/Antifa against the draft, with more cities burned?