"It's a game" or so it seems to me, from afar, as to how the American tug-of-war plays out - the Plantation Capitalists on one end of the rope, tugging with their might and main, and those who see Democracy for what it is - equality for all before the law, and equality of opportunity, supported by laws to keep the Oligarchs under control and enable the rest of us to have a fair and decent chance at life.

From afar, it feels like a game.

But up close and personal, it's a struggle to the death.

Plantation Capitalists won't have it any other way, but their own.

For them, to own it all, to make all the decisions, to be sure that government stays out of their way and supports their claims, protecting their property - human and material.

They hate Democracy.

On the other hand, from the founding mothers and fathers to the present, the impulse of freedom, trying to figure out how to balance the scales of justice and opportunity, to make America a haven for the world, an example of how people can live together - without an aristocracy and kings and queens, without the landed powerful lording it over the rest of us, with a government that works for all of us, and not just the few.

From Lincoln to Teddy Roosevelt, from FDR to Eisenhower, to this moment with Biden, the voice of liberty cries out to be heard, while others are doing everything they can to still the pure voice of hope.

Who will win?

Democracy is under fire right now, and autocracy holds out the promise of efficiency and power - the alluring vision of Mussolini, Franco, Hitler and tinpot dictators throughout history, including our former president and those who surrounded him with their praise and adulation.

But the human heart can still sing, and there is always hope. America has come through some of the worst, and it will come through again. 

Liberty, Democracy, Hope, will win.