Razor wire. Soldiers bivouacking in the Capitol. Extreme risk aversion is on display in our nation’s capital. It is a newish feature of the American ethos.
Americans once habitually took and accepted big risks, and the realization of these risks, from time to time.
One president of this great republic died weeks into his presidency because he refused to wear a coat outdoors at his inauguration. Another died while watching Tom Taylor’s Our American Cousin in a loosely guarded viewing box. Yet another delivered a speech after being shot in the chest. Calculating that, since his mouth ejected no blood, the bullet had not penetrated his lungs, Teddy Roosevelt figured carrying on was the right thing to do, as a man and as an image for his people to imitate.
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