(Sorry folks. Too long for a meme. Not sure anyone reads any more, but here is yet another reflection on yesterday’s violent attack by the President on Congress.)
What happened yesterday is rather simple. Please no false equivalencies. No comparison to recent protests – or even past or recent riots. No extrapolation to historical happenings. Simple!
What we saw on January 6th, 2021 was a sitting President sparking, encouraging, and commanding the forced disruption of the functioning sitting Legislative branch.
The sitting President was the Commander in Chief of the mob that stormed the Capital. He started it. He could have stopped it before it got violent. He could have disowned them after it settled. He did none of that. His lame language like ‘go home in peace’ was simply drowned out by his continuing shouts about the ‘stolen elections’. He has yet to show any change in his thinking regarding why the attack happened; and he has shown no remorse that it happened. Indeed, he indicated he ‘loves’ these people. Therefore, he remains committed to his cause. And he remains in power. He must be removed. Now.
Unless. Unless of course our collective political and cultural will is to simply turn the page, end this nightmare and begin a new chapter. However, what is wrong with this approach is that it simply tries to sweep the event under the rug for – dare I say – economic expediency. Sweeping this event under the rug and simply moving on in the name of reclaiming normalcy for stability would be a dangerous approach – and one that will come back to bite us sooner rather than later.
Are we simply move on so as to create a false sense of stability that will please the marketplace – and thus provide security for economic and profitability as we have done with every other major crisis, recent and historical? (i.e.: “Turn the page. Start a new chapter. There’s money to be made.”) Or are we going to go through the difficult, painful process of bringing this sitting President to justice, holding him accountable for having caused violence against the Legislative branch of government? He has to go. Now.