If kids ask tough questions, then grown-up kids ask even tougher questions.  During a recent visit, my grown-up daughter asked me if I thought the 2024 presidential election would be the last one?  Laughing at first, I realized she was actually quite concerned.

First, I explained that even dictators stage elections, so if a dictator “wins” in 2024, he would continue the farce.

Second, the January 6th insurrection was fewer than a thousand misled Americans, who thought it was 1776. attacking a symbol for three hours . . . before leaving for dinner.  Inexcusable as it was, it was not the worse event in our history.  The 9-11 World Trade Center attack by terrorists killed almost three thousand Americans.  The attack on Pearl Harbor by another nation-state killed 2,403 Americans.  Nobody was killed during the Saturday Night Massacre on October 20, 1973, but it worried me the most.  I still shudder at the thought of lawyers creeping around the While House under cover of darkness.

Third, although some people fear a military takeover, I don’t.   If a dictator orders the generals to do something unlawful. there far too many fine senior officers that know they have a legal obligation to the Constitution and must disobey unlawful orders.  Of course, there will always be a few treasonous officers, but they are so rare.

Fourth, it is not mere pollyanna to say America will indeed enjoy honest elections after 2024.  If we survived a Civil War, killing 600 thousand Americans, we can survive Donald Trump or any other wannabe dictator.