Beware the Ides of March

“Beware the Ides of March” is an expression of foreboding, not because March 15th is a particularly threatening date, but because Caesar was warned to be wary of that day, yet he ignored the warning, and it cost him his life. The election of 2024 could be viewed similarly: all of the signs of disaster were there, yet the voters refused to see them. We were aware of 34 felony convictions. Trump did not hide his character flaws, and he is not the lone Republican failing to demonstrate any sense of ethics or morals. It is time that we heed the warnings we witnessed with our own eyes and ears and act on the truths we have witnessed.

This is not the first period of abject governmental failure in American history. In 2018, Richard North Patterson reflected on three of the most divisive issues that had persisted over the fifty years of his adult life. Looking back to 1968, a year of great turmoil in the U.S., Patterson discussed the recurring upheaval caused by the “wedge of race”, the “persistent, ongoing issues of feminism and gender roles”, and the “toll of death by gunfire” in the U.S. in his article, history-doesn't-repeat-itself-but-it-often-rhymes/. And yet, here we are in 2026 still grappling with the same, unaddressed issues. Patterson also noted in 2018 that “American politics are increasingly racialized”, but the 2018 perceptions do not hold a candle to the racial animosity we are experiencing today! Perhaps it is time to ask ourselves: what we are refusing to see? and what we must actually do to affect progressive change now?

One thing Democrats may be starting to see more clearly is that we cannot expect the GOP to end its never-ending cycle of lies. Just as often as Lucy has pulled the football out from under Charlie Brown’s kick, so have countless Congressmen and Senators promised to vote for what was right, only to cower and vote with Trump. We must stop believing that surely, they will behave with honesty, ethical integrity, or any evidence of intellectual foresight as they dig the hole that is America’s future just a little deeper.

It is time Democrats respond with greater pointedness and efficacy. If the GOP is willing to create contorted, highly gerrymandered House Districts, then we need to respond with similar determination. In Virginia, we can push that goal forward by voting YES on April 21st to allow redistricting this year in advance of the midterms, increasing the likelihood of flipping both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate to Democratic control on November 3rd. If you would like to shout out your support for redistricting in Virginia and order a free VOTE YES! yard sign, register here: Vote Yes yard signs from FCDC.

If our goal is to ameliorate misperceptions of feminism and outdated male-imagined gender roles for everyone, we need to vote YES on November 3rd to amend the Virginia Constitution enshrining reproductive rights in the Commonwealth and vote YES to amend the Constitution and remove the 2006 ban on same-sex marriage in Virginia, as well.

If our goal is to lessen the wedge of race, we must vote YES to restore voting rights to every felon who has completed his sentence, returning the vote to the disproportionate number of Black males arrested and incarcerated in the Commonwealth; Black Virginians make up less than 20% of Virginia’s voting age population, yet they account for nearly half of Virginians who are disenfranchised due to felony convictions. federal-judge-greenlights-lawsuit-challenging-virginias-permanent-felony/

And if our goal is to reduce the toll of death by gunfire in the U.S., it is imperative that we carefully evaluate the candidates running in the August 4th primaries, comparing and considering their stances on reasonable and effective restrictions on gun ownership, and then base our votes on those considerations.

Over fifty years ago, John F. Kennedy pointed out that “Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought,” and this is still true today. It is time we start thinking more critically and acting on fact-based conclusions, including when we vote. We must VOTE as if we are thinking beings.