Happy Birthday, Weirdest Day Ever
Today is the fourth anniversary of the January 6th assault on the Capitol. I have written extensively on this subject and yet, there is so much more to say. When the events of that really bad day unfolded, they were the results of a man throwing a fit because he lost a free and fair election, and he drummed up violent support from his followers. He stoked the flames of discord and unrest, and during the day in question, he encouraged his own supporters to hang his own Vice President. Following that day came acts of courage and honesty, from those closest to the Trump White House, and from the other members of the Republican party. Some chose to stand firm by their actions that contributed to the uprising, and some chose to clam up and say nothing at all.
Despite the best efforts of those who came forward, the Senate vote to convict him of inciting an insurrection and other charges related to the day did not meet the two-thirds majority requirement to do such a thing, but the majority did vote in favor of conviction. Trump was acquitted, and is heading back to the White House in a few short weeks. Given the acquittal, and his re-election, why is Trump’s role on that day still examined so thoroughly?
Well, for one thing, the well is already being poisoned again, and Trump’s not even in the building. Steve Bannon, in a speech last month, said “Trump 2028”, on the basis that Trump’s two terms are not consecutive. While that has absolutely no legal basis in fact, and the claim has been denounced in various news outlets, it should be noted that Trump’s claims that the only way he would lose the election is if the results were falsified was also baseless. That statement became the pillar of belief for those who stormed the Capitol in 2021. When people closest to him say these things, Trump is unique in his propensity to believe it wholeheartedly if it suits him, and to repeat falsehoods told to him by these supposed experts. Bannon is setting the country up to fail again, and Trump will most likely buy into the charade completely.
Make no mistake, that is what happened that day. The country failed. Over my prolonged break, I have been having conversations with people about both parties, and a conclusion I came to is that this is yet another area where the difference between the Democrat and Republican parties is most starkly displayed. The Democrats run people who could not possibly win an election that does not strictly take place in New York and California, and the Republicans run their craziest, most idiotic candidates time and time again because their voter base is becoming susceptible to any candidate that promises themselves to be an anti-establishment agent of change.
This is bad, not just for the parties, but for the country. Not to jump too hard on a point, but there are a million ways the DNC could handle one party being responsible for an event like January 6th, and they didn’t choose any of the ones I would have gone with. The search should have been on immediately for a strong candidate that fit the American vision of a president, who could denounce the actions of hose responsible, offer support for friends on both sides of the aisle who stepped up, and offer the American people no choice but to sit down and take in the facts of the case, and the state of the Country. The RNC should have done the same, and dropped Donald Trump like a hot potato. Had this been the response from both parties to the clearest sign we’ve ever seen of the unrest in this country, we might be in a much different place now, heading towards inauguration. We might even hold a place of higher esteem on the global stage, which would be good news for us. Sadly, that is not how the day, and the years following, transpired.
Donald Trump appears to be uniquely immune to the pulls and sways of public opinion that might have made any other man completely ineligible for the Oval Office, and this began before he refused to concede a free and fair election. His actions on that day proved that he has no love for America. When you love something, you don’t threaten it, and when you love the people you proudly serve as their elected leader, you don’t incite violence against them for participating in the one thing that is endemic to our name, to our flag, to our nature; voting and elections. There I go, participating in the fetishization of the act of punching a ballot, which is something I normally can’t stand, but occasionally it is worth stepping back and looking at the awesome power we have as citizens, and how that power has been wasted on a man who doesn’t deserve to walk the halls our greatest presidents have walked.
President Jimmy Carter was ineffectual at times, and could be considered proof that the best men don’t make good presidents, but I do not accept Donald Trump and his violent temper tantrums as an alternative to a man who was just too kind to do the job. Both parties can and must search for a middle ground, and both parties must not forget the extraordinary acts of courage from Republicans in the months after January 6th. Most importantly, they must not forget that pretty much everyone that served the special committee kept their seats. Trump’s hold on certain branches of the Republican party, and voter base, was too strong for those who stood against him to stay in office.
That is not likely to change; Lara Trump, the President-Elect’s daughter in law, is now the co-chair of the RNC, and the DNC remains determined to cough up the ball the second they gain an inch of ground. The overwhelming feeling I am left with, four years after the culmination of President Trump’s poisonous rhetoric, is that the only way out is through. It has been said that America’s darkest times are followed by her finest hours, and that our better angels win in the end. Our Better Angels is actually the title of a John Meacham book detailing this exact sentiment, with historic evidence to back up the idea that we can be more, and we will be again. I’ll be keeping that book by my bedside for the next four years, and I invite all of you to do the same.
I will also be encouraging my friends from all over the political spectrum to ask questions, and to engage with news sources that do informative reporting, such as A.P. Their primer on what happens next after Biden stepped down was excellent and I learned a lot, and I went to school for this crap. Information is the only way to combat the level of divisiveness and nitpicking we are entrenched in now. I sure hope we can do better in 4 years, and by then, the January 6th storm on the capital will be almost 8 years old, but not forgotten. Happy Birthday to you, Weirdest Day Ever. I hope we never see the likes of you again.
