The Day America Almost Died

Many of us read in High School William Shakespeare's classic play Julius Caesar, which was where we learned about the signifance about the Ides of March. And today, once again, that day is upon us.

Those of us who studied Latin also know that in the ancient Roman Calendar (from the Latin word, KALENDS), March was the first month of the new year. There was a two-week period of celebration, culminating with the Ides, which fell on March 15.

This day is an important day in history.

Key Historical Events for March 15:

• 44 BC: Roman dictator Julius Caesar is assassinated by senators, including Brutus and Cassius, on the "Ides of March".
• 1493: Christopher Columbus returns to Spain, completing his first voyage to the Americas.
• 1820: Maine is admitted as the 23rd US state.
• 1917: Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates the throne, ending the Romanov dynasty.
• 1937: The first hospital blood bank in the US opens at Cook County Hospital in Chicago.
• 1939: Hitler annexes all of Czechoslovia, voiding the Munich Pact.
• 1956: The musical My Fair Lady opens on Broadway.
• 1961: The first Jaguar E-Type model is debuted by William Lyons at the Geneva International Motor Show.
• 1972: The Godfather film premieres in New York.
• 1985: The first internet domain name, symbolics.com, is registered.
• 1990: Mikhail Gorbachev is elected as the first President of the Soviet Union.

This certainly is not a complete list of events. You get the point, however,  why this date is more well-known than others.

Today is also the day where we almost lost our freedoms due to Covid. Most Federal, State and Local agencies across the country urged us to shut everything down for two weeks starting generally on this day in 2020 "to stop the spread" and “reduce the curve”. Or some other lame slogan.

And of course, believing it was a short-term request, we accepted and participated. But it went on and on for over two years, until common sense finally prevailed.

Ironically, people developed new and strange habits, like driving in a car alone, while wearing a mask and smoking a cigarette. Looking ridiculous. Even now.

It has been six years since we almost surrendered to this false narrative. Many of us contracted the illness, but survived. Others took "the shot" because they were told it was mandatory to keep their jobs, and are still unsure of the long-term consequences. 

And sadly, many people died because they were shoved by some Governors and others into nursing facilities, when other sources of care and comfort were made available by the first Trump Administration and other forward-thinking Governors.

It is a day we should remember that this was the day that America almost died. Had we continued to follow this false storyline, who knows what chaos would have followed?

It is incumbent for all of us to remember the famous line spoken in Julius Caesar by the Soothsayer (fortune teller) in Act I, Scene 2 about today, March 15, to "Beware the Ides of March". And unlike six years ago, we must continue to take heed when false truths like this are spread by those agents looking to control us.