I don’t know if I am more angry right now with the soon to be ex-President of the United States or the shameless cowards who have enabled his reckless behavior these last couple of months, let alone the last four years.  “SHOCKED, I say, I was SHOCKED by the violence unleashed on the Capitol,” so sounded many a Republican in their righteous indignation as they rose to voice support for the very claims on the floor of Congress that fueled the violence.  Absolutely appalling. 

Fortunately a number of their colleagues (though not enough) had the integrity to oppose these political charades.  Senator Ben Sasse (R – Nebraska), not one of my favorite Senators by any means, was one of those.  Following the attack of the domestic terrorists on the Capitol, Senator Sasse did not mince words.  “Today, the United States Capitol — the world’s greatest symbol of self-government,” he stated,  “was ransacked while the leader of the free world cowered behind his keyboard.  Lies have consequences. This violence was the inevitable and ugly outcome of the president’s addiction to constantly stoking division.”

Anyone who was surprised by the violence, especially the Capitol Police who were wholly unprepared for what should have been obvious, has not been paying attention.  Trump has over and over again praised violent actors, from white extremists in this country to dictators abroad.  He has been doing all he can to stoke the anger of his fan base with his constant parade of lies about the election.  He has pardoned war criminals and a police officer who ordered her K-9 German shepherd to attack a vulnerable homeless man who was cooperating with police in addition to four other times she was sued for excessive force and brutality.  At a rally then candidate Trump said a protestor should be taken out and beaten.  He told the Proud Boys to “stand by” and called upon his supporters to take their fight to the Capitol.  As Congress was gathering to confirm the votes of the Electoral College, he told his minions, “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore. … Let the weak ones get out, this is a time for strength.”

And fight they did, beating one officer to the point that he tragically died the following day.  Several others were injured.  A rioter was killed by police, three others died from unexplained medical emergencies. Pipe bombs were left at both the Republican and Democrat HQ.  Police recovered a cooler full of Molotov cocktails, fortunately unused.  One picture shows one of the terrorists with a fistful of zip ties, the kind that are used to hold someone captive, inside the chamber where members of Congress had just been engaged in debate moments before.  Whatever he intended to do with those zip ties could not have been good.  Another shows a proud terrorist waving his confederate flag inside the Capitol and police in plain clothes with guns drawn behind a barricade blocking the entry to the chamber.  A noose was hung outside the Capitol building. Legislators were instructed to lie on the floor and to pull the gas masks out from under their seats.  Who knew they had gas masks under their seats?!  More than one of our elected officials, like those unfortunate souls in the Twin Towers on 9-11, called home to speak to their loved ones just in case they didn’t make it home.  

It may certainly be true that most of those gathered at the Capitol did so peacefully, but the level of violence and destruction was not the action of a few bad apples.  These were people who were responding to the call of the President, and who were even told by him how much he loved them after the worst of the assault had been done.  Words matter. Actions have consequences.  The damage done by this President to the institutions of our country go way beyond a few broken windows and vandalized offices.  The peaceful transfer of power has been the hallmark of American democracy ever since John Adams willingly turned over the keys to the freshly built White House to Thomas Jefferson in 1801 after a hard fought election.  While that transition will occur once again at noon on January 20th, we can no longer say that it will have been peaceful.  That ship has sailed.  Along with so much else, Trump has broken a 220 year-old tradition that is as sacred as the Constitution itself.  Worse, he has laid the seeds for more to come.  It may not be this year or next, but the time will come when someone else will take a cue from Trump’s playbook and improve upon it in an attempt to seize power through lies and manipulation, drawing upon the ignorance of those too willing to follow a pseudo-savior they sadly believe will protect their self-interests.

How do we prevent such from occurring and protect the democracy we cherish?  For starters, call for Trump to be removed from office ASAP to show the seriousness of his attempt to undermine the election.  Be it by impeachment or 25th Amendment, preferably both, there is too much at stake to allow him to remain in office for his last 13 days.  More importantly, be engaged in the political process.  As Stacey Abrams and others have so wonderfully demonstrated in Georgia, voting makes a difference.  Who was it that said, “We get the government we deserve?”  Yes, and we get the government we create.  That’s the beauty of democracy, for all of its ills.  Government is the work of the people.  Whether it is working on a campaign, serving on an advisory committee, writing letters to officials or even running for office, there are a myriad of ways one can be involved.  

Finally, I refer back to the good Senator from Nebraska for some very practical, down-to-earth advice for how to respond to all of the negativity and ugliness we saw this week. Taking his five minutes on the Senate floor to provide a little hope after the trauma they had all been through, Senator Sasse said this:
It was ugly today.  But you know what?  It turns out that when something is ugly, talking about beauty isn’t just permissible, talking about beauty is obligatory. …  Why?  Why would we talk about beauty after the ugliness of today?   Because our kids need to know that this isn’t what America is.  … Most governments in the past have said ‘might makes right,’ and we saw some of that today. “Might makes right.” No it doesn’t. God gives rights by nature and government is just our shared project to secure those rights. America has always been about what we choose to do together. … The heart of America is not government. The center of America is not Washington DC. The center of America is the neighborhoods where 330 million Americans are raising kids, trying to put food on the table and trying to love their neighbor. … the things they build together, the paces where they coach little league, the paces where they invite people to synagogue and church.  … You can’t do big things like that if you hate your neighbors. You can’t do big things together as Americans if you think other Americans are the enemy. … Don’t let the screamers who monetize hate have the final word. Don’t let the nihilists become your drug dealers. There are some who want to burn it down but they’re not going to win. Instead organize, persuade, but most importantly, love your neighbor.

As they say in my old profession, “that will preach.”

So find and celebrate the beauty and the good of this country wherever you can.  Help a neighbor.  Compliment a co-worker.  Call someone who could use some encouragement.  Support a charity. Thank a public servant. Don’t trash democracy with cheap talk, cherish it with good works.  And above all, love your neighbor.  Your country will be better for it, and so will you.

Photo: Protestors watch as rioters break into the Capitol on January 6, 2021. ROBERT REID/STARS AND STRIPES