People have wondered what will happen if, after November 3 & a record loss at the polls, trump refuses to leave office. Usually trump is depicted as seated in the Oval Office refusing to depart. In scenarios I’ve read, all the players are domestic.

Most commentators are confident members of the U.S. military - the most powerful in history - even though under the command of the head of the executive branch - i.e., the President - would obey the oaths taken when they joined the armed forces of this country.

The past few days, we’ve seen right wing self-styled militias, their members armed with assault style weapons and claiming to peacefully protect their Second Amendment rights, support trump. They also shoot people - e.g., in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Against the U.S. military, these vigilante forces would be a few moments’ hassle. However, other possibilities exist. We should be concerned about the possibility of a hostile foreign power coming to the aid of a besieged trump.

Russia intervened in Syria to prop up Putin’s favored dictator there. In 1979 the USSR invaded Afghanistan to prop up an unpopular regime the Soviets had helped install. Here we do not know how deep Putin has his claws.

Between now and January 20, 2021 at 12:01 p.m., we face the greatest peril our democracy ever has faced. We can address the problem of this loser in the Oval Office if he refuses to leave. Putin is a different matter.

The U.S. has been wrong to prop up dictators whom our leaders, at such times, have seen as “favorable” to U.S. policies. The right of the people of a country to self-determination via the franchise is a basic principle set out in The Declaration of Independence.

Now our past comes back to haunt us. If you are not registered to vote, please do so. This might be our last free election if we do not all act.