How the importance of historical events wanes over time – The fate of another Capitol rioter – Finland closes its border to Russia – A walk in the woods – Evening statistics
“Everything rung and was connected with the Revolution in France. Everything, not this thing or that thing, but literally everything, was soaked in this one event.”
These words were written by Henry Thomas Cockburn, a prominent Scottish lawyer and judge in his memorials, which essentially were an early 19th-century version of a blog. And less than a century later, another and somewhat better-known author alluded to this event in a somewhat different tone:
LADY BRACKNELL: Mr. Worthing, I confess I feel somewhat bewildered by what you have just told me. To be born, or at any rate bred, in a hand-bag, whether it had handles or not, seems to me to display a contempt for the ordinary decencies of family life that reminds one of the worst excesses of the French Revolution. And I presume you know what that unfortunate movement led to?
In the early decades of the 19th century the French Revolution was still a momentous episode that created lasting memories in the minds of those who lived through it, even when separated from its immediate ramifications by the English Channel. And by 1895, Oscar Wilde could make it the subject of his jokes; it becomes a bugaboo for the grotesque Lady Bracknell, as she responds in outrage to the revelation that her daughter’s would-be suitor had been left abandoned as an infant in a handbag at a railway station. The dialogue preceding her reaction will give an idea of the context in which it takes place:
JACK: The fact is, Lady Bracknell, I said I had lost my parents. It would be nearer the truth to say that my parents seem to have lost me . . . I don’t actually know who I am by birth. I was . . . well, I was found.
LADY BRACKNELL: Found!
JACK: The late Mr. Thomas Cardew, an old gentleman of a very charitable and kindly disposition, found me, and gave me the name of Worthing, because he happened to have a first-class ticket for Worthing in his pocket at the time. Worthing is a place in Sussex. It is a seaside resort.
LADY BRACKNELL: Where did the charitable gentleman who had a first-class ticket for this seaside resort find you?
JACK: [Gravely.] In a hand-bag.
LADY BRACKNELL: A hand-bag?
JACK: [Very seriously.] Yes, Lady Bracknell. I was in a hand-bag—a somewhat large, black leather hand-bag, with handles to it – an ordinary hand-bag in fact.
LADY BRACKNELL: In what locality did this Mr. James, or Thomas, Cardew come across this ordinary hand-bag?
JACK: In the cloak-room at Victoria Station. It was given to him in mistake for his own.
LADY BRACKNELL: The cloak-room at Victoria Station?
JACK: Yes. The Brighton line.
LADY BRACKNELL: The line is immaterial.
I mention this because it occurs to me that perhaps some of the events I have narrated in this journal that have struck me as being of grave importance, perhaps to the extent of being catastrophes, will in the course of several decades become a subject of mirth and jests. The assault on the Capitol, for example, may in time become the basis for farces, and a dramatization of this kind would certainly provide a clever comic actor plenty of opportunities to ham it up in the role of Donald Trump. We may even see comedies about the pandemic itself, or at any rate the various reactions that several political and medical institutions made in response, many of which I admit to be risible.
It is as well that this be so, I suppose. No doubt survival of peoples and nations would be precarious if humanity as a whole were less resilient. And yet I cannot help feeling some resentment towards the later generations who will take events such as the treasonable attack of January 6, 2021 or the epidemic as a whole so light-heartedly. As I believe I have illustrated, and as have the records of many others during the past two years have attested, they were anything but enjoyable to undergo.
Speaking of the attack on the Capitol, yet another rioter has pleaded guilty – to disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, which carries a maximum of six months in prison. David Johnston was identified from TikTok and Facebook live videos as one of those storming the Capitol. He is an attorney from South Carolina and is 66 years old – old enough to know better. He has already paid heavily since his arrest in May, 2022; he was fired from his law firm and his license to practice law in South Carolina was suspended by the state’s Supreme Court just a few days afterwards.
In response to the increasing numbers of Russian men in the 18-27 age bracket fleeing to avoid conscription, Finland has declared that it will greatly restrict the number of Russian “tourists” permitted to visit the nation and has, in effect, closed its border, thereby blocking all land border crossings for Russians to enter any of the remaining nations in Europe. The Baltic nations closed their borders a few days earlier, so the only countries through which Russians can now enter Europe are Belarus, which is not likely to be sympathetic towards men fleeing from Putin’s regime, and Ukraine itself. Officially the Finnish government has said that issuing thousands of visas to Russian men would cause “serious damage to Finland’s international position.” But I have no doubt that sheer prudence dictated this policy as well: after seeing how Russian soldiers have treated Ukrainian civilians over the past several weeks, no nation in its senses would desire to see a large number of Russian youths in its midst.
It is a relief to turn from these political issues at home and abroad to scenes of domestic tranquility I have been enjoying in private: specifically, to the hike I led today for Capital Hiking Club in Little Bennett Regional Park. The area provides no spectacular overlooks or panoramic views of mountain scenery, but it is exceedingly pleasant to roam through, with trails crisscrossing the piedmont scenery, none of them particularly steep or rocky; and, moreover, on a day whose conditions were nearly ideal: clear and dry, with comfortable temperatures never going above 70. The only outstanding feature was the dappled sunlight filtering through the chinks between the leaves of the branches arching overhead, but that was sufficient to provide a day of thorough enjoyment.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 619,952,013; # of deaths worldwide: 6,539,682; # of cases U.S.: 97,895,860; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,081,708.