Thursday, October 1, 2026
Charles Dickens opened “A Tale of Two Cities” with the immortal words, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Although Dickens set his story in London and Paris during the French Revolution, the themes of order and chaos, justice and corruption, freedom and oppression resonate today. America in 2025 faces its own tale of two cities, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
One city bleeds under failed liberal leadership; the other has been restored to safety through the decisive leadership of President Trump. Together they reveal the crossroads America faces — whether we choose safety, law and freedom or surrender to violence and radical ideology.
Chapter 1: Chicago, a tragedy without end. Chicago is a chilling reminder of what happens when leaders put ideology ahead of human lives. Murders and carjackings occur at staggering rates. Over a single holiday weekend, fifty-four people were shot and eight killed. Families live in fear, children cannot walk safely to school and businesses flee neighborhoods ravaged by crime.
Yet Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago leaders refuse help from the one man who has proven he can turn the tide: President Trump. They play politics with lives, rejecting the National Guard even as gangs claim entire neighborhoods. Their arrogance has made Chicago resemble not a great American city but a dystopian nightmare.
Chapter 2: Washington, D.C., from chaos to calm. Contrast Chicago’s despair with Washington. Just months ago, our capital was on the verge of collapse. Carjackings reached epidemic levels, shootings spiked and residents recoiled in fear. Mayor Muriel Bowser resisted help.
But when Trump sent in federal resources and the National Guard, the results were undeniable. Crime dropped dramatically — Trump reported an 87 percent reduction in carjackings and decreases across nearly every category. Illegal firearms were seized, criminals were arrested by the thousands and once-lawless streets were restored to security. For the first time in years, citizens could walk through their capital without fear.
Even with critics decrying Trump’s deployment as “occupying forces,” the proof was plain: law and order returned. Tourists, business owners, and residents celebrated a new reality: safety. That is what Trump understands, and what too many liberal leaders deny — that law-abiding citizens want peace and security, not excuses.
Chapter 3: the liberal denial of reality. Yet even in the face of success, Democrats resist. Pritzker waves away Trump’s offer while his people die. Bowser begrudgingly cooperates but refuses to credit Trump’s actions. Activists protest not gangs and criminals but the men and women in uniform who restored order. Some even liken safe streets to “oppression.”
That is the upside-down logic of the radical left. The blindness stretches abroad. In London — a city Dickens chronicled — a comedian was arrested for making jokes. Imagine that: criminal charges not for violence or theft, but for humor. That is where radical ideology leads: punishing speech more harshly than crime. Dickens would recognize this as tyranny.
Chapter 4: A tale of two futures. The lesson is clear: leadership matters. Chicago descends into chaos because its leaders refuse to protect their people. Washington rose from lawlessness because Trump acted. Citizens crave safety more than slogans — they want order, not anarchy.
Dickens wrote of sacrifice and redemption. In our time, Trump faces relentless attacks and resistance from entrenched elites — yet he does it to defend the lives and freedoms of Americans. This, too, is sacrifice of the highest order.
America must choose which path to follow. Will we continue down Chicago’s — violence without consequence, ideology over life? Or will we follow Washington’s — decisive action, restored law and order and the courage to withstand the tantrums of radicals?
Chapter 5: the choice that lies ahead.The story of our time is not unlike Dickens’s vision centuries ago. We, too, live in the best and worst of times. The best of times when leaders like Trump prove America can defend its people and uphold law and order. The worst of times when liberal elites put politics before human life, when cities like Chicago are plagued by murder while leaders shrug off solutions.
Let this tale of two cities be both warning and inspiration. We cannot allow America’s great cities to sink into lawlessness, or permit radicals to criminalize free speech while ignoring real criminals. We must stand with President Trump, with law and order, and with American families who simply want peace. Only then can we ensure that our history ends not in chaos and despair, but in resurrection and renewal — the true promise of America.
Ari Brown represents the 20th Assembly District.
