Most historians should agree that revolutions led by citizens are actually the easy part of fomenting change. It's the "now what" part that comes after those revolutions that is hard. We get rid of the bad actors and the broken system, but now what do we do? How do we fix what's broken? Then, if those fixes are successful, years later people tend to mythologize just how easy it all was.
But in reality, it wasn't. And if you want an example, do a deep read on Washington's second term. What you will learn is that Washington left office a badgered, maligned and frustrated old man. Absolutely nothing about those post-Revolution years was easy. And things sure as hell are not easy now.
There's only one thing where I agree with the current president: The economic system has been rigged against millions of Americans for decades. And it's even more rigged since January 2025. Why my wife and I got a $7,000 federal tax refund last month while others lost access to health insurance makes no sense. I still do not have an answer for why that happened.
That brings me to the hard questions I have for any Democrat, independent or the rare Republican not afraid to stand up to the administration in what could be another mini-revolution this November. If we elect you, what hard post-revolutionary steps will you take to make health care affordable? How are you going to make the cost of living livable? How are you going to unrig this system? And do not let them off the hook if you start hearing a lawyer's dodge.
I'm Andrew Nelson, and that's my perspective.
Copy Edited by Eryn Lent
