The Next American Reckoning

On Wednesday, January 6, 2021, we witnessed one of the scariest moments of our lives. A frenzied mob overtook the U.S. Capitol building in an attempt to stop a critical vote that would confirm the results of a fair and free election. It was called “unprecedented.” It was called “unheard of.” It was called “unexpected.” 

But the thing is - it wasn’t any of those. The violence and rage displayed? Scholars have been warning about it for years. Many people have studied the Trump administration, have studied the times in history where the U.S. has fallen prey to its most deplorable instincts. This is the same energy that allowed for white supremacists to stage coups across the South and stop Reconstruction efforts post Civil War. This is the same energy that fueled McCarthyism, and led to the witch hunt of multiple government officials. This same energy lives today as people are pulled in by the lies parroted by those around them, telling them that there is some massive conspiracy theory and widespread corruption at play. It needs to stop. And more importantly, those who know better must stop humoring them. 

If we are to walk away from this shameful moment with any conclusion, it needs to be the fact that we need to be better educated on our own history and our contemporary politics. Listen to the experts. Read from the scholars. Learn from those who have studied this. And let’s make a commitment to making our country a truly better place.