Well of course there is only one item of news tonight

I usually try to post new articles at around p.m. on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I was completing today a three-part back story to the Magna Carta and how English democracy arose and then English jurisprudence that developed into common law. Then just before posting, I clicked on to check on the status of the Trump case which I have been periodically doing for the last three days. My feeble arguments did not seem relevant at the moment, so I decided to refrain.

But I believe they may be more relevant than my just adding to the chorus of relief that this moment has come. Or for some of my acquaintances, the moment they have been dreading. Perhaps now is the time to go into depth about how institutions began to develop in England. So for the next three nights I will post my articles at my regular 9 p.m. slot.

The first will center on the very far back story of what led to the conquest of England by William in 1066. The second will focus on the backstory of the Normans and their relationship to the Saxons in the Wessex region of England and William’s successful takeover, and the initiation of the first great councils to consolidate his conquest. The final article on Sunday focuses on the anarchy that resulted in the rise of Henry FitzEmpress and the Plantagenets. Henry successfully bargained his way into the kingship promising to end the anarchy and in doing so, created a democratic council of the lords and barons and the beginning seeds of the common law. Henry could also be ruthless against opposition, but was diplomatic enough to maintain order which his son John was unable to accomplish which led him to be forced to sign the Magna Carta, but it would still be almost two hundred years before its promises would be fulfilled. And I explore that Parliament and the House of Commons and granting the first citizen enfranchisement was a devious means of subduing the barons by John’s great-grandson. But from that devious action, democracy began in England and was then carried by the English settlers to America.

Today we sigh of relief at Trump’s indictment, but we still are wary that we remain on precarious ground. Hopefully these articles will illustrate just how difficult it was to establish the first expansion of citizen government and why leaving it in

a precarious state could be difficult to overcome if it fails.

I believe we are at a point where democracy, if it is to survive, must expand to a new stage. That is what this column is about. These articles are meant to illustrate the difficulties that democracy must go through to become more democratic and expand citizen participation. I also write because I fear if America falls as a democratic society, it may never recover itself as an ideology and will rapidly decline throughout the world.