Lesson from the Capitol attack

The Capitol Building in the capital of the free world was overrun by hooligans last week. Whether this violent repudiation of a democratic institution was made possible by police and political incompetence, was a coup attempt by U.S. Pres. Donald Trump, or was an intelligence operation on the part of Trump's opponents isn't that important in the overall scheme of things. What is important is that it was allowed to happen or made to happen, as the case may be. The bottom line is that the leading democracy in the world failed to defend the seat of its democracy. Such events in history have generally signaled the end of a regime or civilization. Proponents of the regimes in Eastern Europe who didn't see the writing on the wall in 1989 often suffered by failing to reduce their exposure in time. The same applies now. Countries and individuals who reduce their exposure to the United States will tend to suffer less in the coming months and years than those who do not.