Wednesday, 1/13/21
Another day of unforgettable history
Clio was one of the nine muses of Greek mythology, the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory.
Clio was the muse of history.
Always carrying books and a tablet, Clio steered the thoughts and inspired the writings of authors like Homer, who enjoyed telling stories of the past.
Clio is on my mind today for two reason:
•We will witness history when the House votes to impeach the current president for a second time.
•That vote will take place in the Capitol, where insurrectionists rioted exactly one week ago in their failed bid to overturn the presidential election.
Those turncoats breached the barricades and stormed the Capitol, and as they did, they entered Statuary Hall and walked under the Car of History, a neoclassical marble sculpture by Carlo Franzoni.
Riding in the winged chariot of time is Clio. In her hand is the journal to record the events that unfold in that hallowed place.
What happened a week ago was not just a matter for the moment, but for all of time. Generations from now, your descendants will study what happened on Jan. 6 — the people who conspired to create the attempted toppling of the American Experiment, and the ones who stopped it from coming true.
They will read how the president tried to force his vice president into sabotaging the Electoral College, telling him that there were only two options:
"You can either go down in history as a patriot, or you can go down in history as a pussy."
It reminds me of the last words of Robert Alton Harris, a California murderer who, in 1992, became the first person executed by that state in 25 years:
"You can be a king or a street sweeper, but everybody dances with the grim reaper."
Honestly, Harris’ words would have been more chilling if they hadn’t been a lifted misquote from Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey.
Clio would not be proud of any of these things.
Think of her on this day of history, the latest — but most certainly not the last — in a series of unforgettable days.
Perfect.