We have a saying in Hungary when something goes wrong.
"More was lost at Mohács"
Truer words were never spoken.
The above painting is by Székely Bertalan of the discovery of King Lajos II's body after the battle of Mohács.
This battle took place in 1526 on August 29th on the plains of Mohács against Suleiman. It was the fall of Hungary, a loss from which the country never recovered.
The early 1500's were a turbulent time in European history. All the powers of the small continent were caught up in terrible power struggles against each other and within their borders. In Hungary there was a terrible serf uprising that cost so many lives that the country was left without the man power to fight off enemies from the outside.
In the same time period several Turkish sultans died and rose to power. All of them had been trying to break into Europe, and spread the rule of Islam. They had been unable to do so because strong leaders fought them off, and various European powers united to keep them out. The treaty made by the Hunyadis held for almost one hundred years. The power struggles became more violent, no one paid attention to the rise of Suleiman, who was an all together different enemy.
When Suleiman massed his armies and marched on Hungary they blithely rode out to meet him, complacent, and arrogant, and faced their enemy on the plains of Mohács, where they were run over. The young king died without heir, and the country was lost, never to regain the strength and standing it had in earlier years. Hungary spent the next 400 years trying to throw off one enemy or another and was too weak and insignificant to defend itself in the two great wars of the 20th century. The miracle is that we still exist.
If we make a few substitutions the situation fits today, and the US stands to lose the same way.
Suleiman= corona virus
King Lajos II=Current leadership
Hungary= US
Austria=Middle East Arab problems
Serf rising= Internal power struggle and troubled interracial relations
The last twenty plus years have seen an escalating struggle for power between the two political parties. This has spread to the population to such an extent that it is difficult to have any political conversation. Furthermore racial tensions have been rising. The US is caught in an escalating fight for world leadership. In ignorance and greed we have made enemies in the Middle East and the animosity has once again lead to violence and hate.
The quality of people wanting to be leaders has deteriorated, the population often votes more against than for a candidate. The press does not report the news, it interprets and spins it to suit their particular bias.
There is a rise in poverty as the middle class erodes. We, like many civilizations before, have grown complacent in our well being and have lost the vigor and strength of years past. We have come to expect too much, indeed demand too much, and are losing the strength to sacrifice for the common good.
If we do not put our differences aside and unite against the common enemy, we are doomed. If we are not willing to give up a little to gain a lot, we are doomed. The weakest and most vulnerable among us will be winnowed out. That is the poor, the old, and those who are unwilling to adapt, will become extinct.
This formula has repeated throughout history, no nation or civilization is exempt. If we do not learn from the past we are doomed to repeat it.
Do you see history repeating itself?
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