What a moment

I never thought I'd live in an era that has seen so much American history.

Most of it the result of one man.

For a president – and now an ex-president – Donald Trump has been a virtual history lesson. Twice impeached. Twice. Hush payments to a porn star. Inciting an insurrection. Supporting the call for the execution of his vice president during the Capitol riot. Calling for the imprisonment of his political opponents. Calling for the suspension of the U.S. Constitution.

And now, he's the first president – former or otherwise – to be indicted. He could be facing 30 or more charges for his alleged role in the hush money payment scheme and subsequent cover-up involving porn actress Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election.

Trump's political supporters see the indictments as the weaponization of both the Department of Justice and the American judicial system. Of course they would. Would they see it that way if the target of an indictment was, say, one Hillary (Lock her up!) Clinton? Hmm?

Others, perhaps more rational, see the indictment as a moment of accountability that has finally arrived, that the wheels of justice are finally turning, that no man is above the law. Trump could soon be facing indictments in Florida for taking top secret documents, in Georgia for election interference, and Washington DC for the Jan. 6 insurrection.

In any event, we, as a nation, are on tenuous ground. This is the first time a president – current or former – has been charged with crimes. We've never been here before. And, as a nation, we're as divided as we can be. The Jan. 6 episode showed us that violence could erupt at any moment and for all the wrong reasons, such as believing in a lie. A big lie.

It's also a time for those of us who are pleased with the indictments to be cautious and wary. The actual charges have yet to be unsealed – we don't know what's in them. We need to let the judicial system play its course and accept whatever the final verdict is announced, calmly and with reason.

Because if we don't, it's only going to get worse.