Do Not Shrug at Insurrection

Every red-blooded American who loves their country must look this insurrection, and the leader who incited it, square in the eye and reckon with what has happened.

Yesterday, January 6th, 2021, will be a day that will live in infamy. America was attacked.  

This attack was not conducted by the forces of a hostile country or carried out by operatives of a foreign terrorist organization. It wasn’t instigated by the leadership of belligerent actors organizing against America from foreign soil.  

This disgraceful act of insurrection against our duly elected government was carried out by our fellow citizens in the name of a President who has, for two months, fed the flames of conspiracy and fear. The business of the US Congress was disrupted by an angry and spiteful mob. The Chambers of our nation's capital were evacuated and overrun. Images of unrest and discord in the halls of America’s government were broadcast across the world.  

The enormity of this treacherous act cannot be overstated. The American Republic has not seen darker days since our ancestors stood in lines of blue and grey and stained our soil with each other’s blood. There can be no equivocation offered, no excuses contrived, and no dismissing yesterday’s events as anything other than what it was: an unlawful insurrection that violates every fundamental principle of the free government the founding generation and every generation since has shed sacred blood to protect and pass on to us. 

Nor can there be any uncertainty of who should be held responsible for the cloud of lies that have brought our republic to this low point in history. From the moment Donald J. Trump descended the golden escalator, he has steadily fed a counter-culture of fear and paranoia that has twisted and deformed the views and values of his followers. He has called into question every inconvenient fact that disputes his own sense of majesty and has fed his followers an alternate reality where violating the norms and moors that hold our republic together will somehow save it instead of crumble its very foundations. 

Donald Trump called his most ardent and extreme followers to flock to D.C. He delivered a fiery speech to his gathered supporters, convincing them they were about to lose their country. He sent them on their way to the Capitol Building, unleashing a hoard of angry and fearful Americans with his command to “fight like hell” ringing in their ears. And, when Donald Trump finally posted a video on his Twitter account asking his supporters to disperse, it was accompanied with continued assertions of conspiracy, lies, false claims, and a message to these insurrectionists that, “We love you.” 

These events cannot be met with indifference. Every red-blooded American who loves their country must look this insurrection, and the leader who incited it, square in the eye and reckon with what has happened.  

Donald Trump must be held accountable for poisoning the well of political discourse in American society, for calling into question the freeness and fairness of our elections, and for inciting everyday Americans into believing that his bid to hold onto power is more important than the sacred institutions and processes that hold us together as a nation.  

Now is the time to lift up your voice. If any ounce of you reviles at what you saw on the steps of our nation’s capitol, speak out loud and clear for everyone to hear. Tell your friends, your family, and your neighbors that this is not okay. On days like today, no consequence for speaking clearly and plainly can outweigh the consequences of silence.