In 1605, a group of Catholic dissidents hatched a plot to assassinate the Protestant King of England, James the 1st, and place a Catholic on the throne. The plan was to blow up the House of Lords on November 5 when the King would be speaking during the State Opening of Parliament. Tipped off to the plot, authorities searched the House of Lords on November 4, where they discovered one of the plotters, Guy Fawkes, guarding the barrels of gunpowder. The other plotters were rounded up and most were tried and executed. The survival of the Protestant monarchy led to November 5 being celebrated in England and its colonies. Guy Fawkes Day remains a day of national celebration in England.
“Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.” ― Abraham Lincoln
Today, we in the US are marking one year since a violent mob assaulted the US Capitol in an attempt to prevent the certification of the Electoral votes that confirmed Joe Biden’s victory in the Presidential election. Unlike the 17th Century English conspiracy that involved a small group of plotters, the insurrection of January 6 was crafted by former President Trump and his inner circle using a propaganda campaign reminiscent of 20th Century fascism, particularly Nazi Germany. The planners of the coup aimed to keep Trump in office by questioning the results of the 2020 election. The “Big Lie” began months prior to November 3 with the repeated message that Biden could only win if the election was fraudulent. Post-Election Day, with Biden’s clear victory established, the plotters resorted to a legal campaign to overturn the results in the closely-contested battleground states. After losing 60 of 61 court cases, they began to formulate deranged schemes to discard the electoral votes of certain states and force the election into the House of Representatives. When these attempts were obviously headed to failure (e.g. Vice-President Pence’s refusal to not accept certain electoral ballots while announcing the state-by-state Electoral College results on the 6th), the Trump team went full-bore crazy, inciting the mob that marched on the Capitol with the goal of preventing Congress from certifying the Electoral vote count. It is increasingly apparent that this last resort was pre-planned, that there were those in the mob prepared to do violence, and that the President was, as they say on the street, down with it.
It was an insurrection, and it was markedly different from the events that led to the American Civil War. The latter was an attempt by states to break the compact of the federation and leave the Union. January 6 was an attempt by a President of the United States to remain in power by openly flouting the laws and the norms of our constitutional republic. And that threat remains, not only in the person of Trump himself, but in a Republican Party that has morphed into a cult of authoritarianism, and in a sizable minority of Americans who have been subsumed by the Big Lie.
“It is the old practice of despots to use a part of the people to keep the rest in order.” ― Thomas Jefferson
Today we will once again view the video images of a mob desecrating the Capitol, the symbolic temple of our democracy. We will be reminded of the dismay we felt as we watched. Some of us will not wish to recall what that day represented, feeling it is time to move on. After all, in the midst of the ongoing pandemic, January 6, 2021, was a single day. We might even soothe ourselves by recognizing that order was restored and Joe Biden was inaugurated as President.
But it is important for the survival of a democratic society that citizens are consistently reminded that democracy is not a thing or a condition, but a process that requires constant participation. So it is important that January 6 be recognized as significant a day in American life as July 4th. In the same we refer to the Fourth as Independence Day, January 6th should be awarded a sobriquet that will bring to mind the fragile nature of our democracy.
Insurrection Day sounds suitable.
Democracy's a very fragile thing. You have to take care of democracy.-Sam Shepard
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Pearl Harbor Day December 7th, Saudi Terror attack day September 11th are days remembered by Americans for their trauma and galvanization of Americans to action. But after so many years, we are allies with Japan and have both diplomatic and military relations with Saudi Arabia that belie the trauma. So I'm against 'celebrating' January 6th with memorials each year. Actually the latter date should and already has resulted in congress investigating and most recently the Biden administration speaking and acting as though our democracy is in jeopardy, which it is. But no 'memorial day' should remind us of the need to 1. shore up our bevy of laws stabilizing and expanding voting rights; 2. bring to justice those who perpetrated this insurrection of murderous and fascist haters and bigots; or, 3. galvanize all those with esprit de corps for their native or adoptive country to turn out for all elections and oust permanently those who are espousing, actually acting or currently hold office while GOP/Trump and right wing extremists fail to defend this nation of laws, precedent and procedure from anarchists like themselves.
Acknowledging the razor edge U.S. Senate majority and handful-narrow votes majority in the House, Biden, the DNC, all elected Democrats, and every candidate for office henceforth should join a (now absent) drumbeat of pro-American federal constitutional democratic governance proponents to save the country from Trump-ism, fascism, dictatorship, and ignorance of the aforementioned laws, precedents and procedures they represent.
Media play a large part in spreading the plethora of lies, diversions, and misrepresentations that influence ordinary citizens/voters and must be regulated. They have done a bad job self-regulating against evil agents and ideas threatening our lifestyles and individuals especially susceptible young girls. Social media must police their content with a fine tooth comb to eliminate and prevent further erosion of American traditional ethos. Politicians, especially women, must renew their intentions to punish those who would dump democracy here. The congressional January 6th committee investigating, the Judicial department suing, and mass media lamenting insurrection must not be the only ones shoring up our nation's institutions against further erosion by crooks and malcontents from any vector of society. Individual citizens must examine their mostly part-time participation in national politics which has been shown for 5 years to be very fragile and susceptible to grifters in the presidency, know-nothing/do-nothing politicians sworn to defend the Constitution who don't, and candidates who already are adopting deviant campaign platforms supporting spurious theories and un-democratic principles and resurrect their wholehearted support of the nation ex-Trump.
If we don't want our jurisprudence to work against law and custom, if we abhor the absence of federal elected officials working to better the nation, if we don't want accountable media permitting lies and propaganda to permeate the minds of subscribers, we must have national renewal in favor of our government with amendments to strengthen its striving for a more perfect union, new laws to prevent government takeover by deviants working against our laws, precedent and procedures and more active participation of ordinary citizens in national life, beyond their personal and narrow interests. It doesn't need a holiday or significant date but a national upsurge in the sentiment 'viva America', long-live the USA, a more perfect union, a community working together again.
I agree with the need for the approach you suggest, but I think you underestimate the emotional impact of marking a day that brought us to the brink. I don't think of it as a celebration, but a day of reflection.
Hey Nic, good to hear from you. I trust you got my Thanksgiving thank you.
My sentiment as a citizen who watched the tv insurrection develop is not to elevate the day and thereby elevate haters, bigots, anarchists and anti-American actions. Likewise I was glad when Facebook and other media refused to print Trump any more. The less visibility, the better for America. Regardless of a set-aside day, those involved in January 6th will memorialize what they want. In some cases it will be those in jail lamenting their downfall; elsewhere it may be hate groups continuing their evil doings; none of that deserves a 'day' set aside, even if not a 'holiday' which should be reserved for doing good. If Americans are not yet emotional about insurrection day, it's a failure of politicians to spread the word and needs correction, not a 'day'. I foresee a drumbeat of administration and state/local officials touting positive changes to laws to preserve the union extending to the points where (a) hate groups have been sued out of existence as Southern Poverty Law Center(SPLC) once did and ACLU/NAACP Legal Defense have done before, (b) perps from 1/6 capitol entry are convicts, (c) planners and plotters from Steve Bannon/Sean Hannity to Trump are indicted and jailed (if not banned from future office holding). With my course of action, voters in November should sweep the malcontents and grifters and oath breakers from office ala 1964 Goldwater and 2020 Trump defeats including dissidents at all levels of government. All of this takes intellectual and practical action beyond emotion. The nation deserves nothing less. I aim for your 'reflection' as an ongoing effort of citizenship defined by Biden and company over the next 9+ months.
Pearl Harbor Day December 7th, Saudi Terror attack day September 11th are days remembered by Americans for their trauma and galvanization of Americans to action. But after so many years, we are allies with Japan and have both diplomatic and military relations with Saudi Arabia that belie the trauma. So I'm against 'celebrating' January 6th with memorials each year. Actually the latter date should and already has resulted in congress investigating and most recently the Biden administration speaking and acting as though our democracy is in jeopardy, which it is. But no 'memorial day' should remind us of the need to 1. shore up our bevy of laws stabilizing and expanding voting rights; 2. bring to justice those who perpetrated this insurrection of murderous and fascist haters and bigots; or, 3. galvanize all those with esprit de corps for their native or adoptive country to turn out for all elections and oust permanently those who are espousing, actually acting or currently hold office while GOP/Trump and right wing extremists fail to defend this nation of laws, precedent and procedure from anarchists like themselves.
Acknowledging the razor edge U.S. Senate majority and handful-narrow votes majority in the House, Biden, the DNC, all elected Democrats, and every candidate for office henceforth should join a (now absent) drumbeat of pro-American federal constitutional democratic governance proponents to save the country from Trump-ism, fascism, dictatorship, and ignorance of the aforementioned laws, precedents and procedures they represent.
Media play a large part in spreading the plethora of lies, diversions, and misrepresentations that influence ordinary citizens/voters and must be regulated. They have done a bad job self-regulating against evil agents and ideas threatening our lifestyles and individuals especially susceptible young girls. Social media must police their content with a fine tooth comb to eliminate and prevent further erosion of American traditional ethos. Politicians, especially women, must renew their intentions to punish those who would dump democracy here. The congressional January 6th committee investigating, the Judicial department suing, and mass media lamenting insurrection must not be the only ones shoring up our nation's institutions against further erosion by crooks and malcontents from any vector of society. Individual citizens must examine their mostly part-time participation in national politics which has been shown for 5 years to be very fragile and susceptible to grifters in the presidency, know-nothing/do-nothing politicians sworn to defend the Constitution who don't, and candidates who already are adopting deviant campaign platforms supporting spurious theories and un-democratic principles and resurrect their wholehearted support of the nation ex-Trump.
If we don't want our jurisprudence to work against law and custom, if we abhor the absence of federal elected officials working to better the nation, if we don't want accountable media permitting lies and propaganda to permeate the minds of subscribers, we must have national renewal in favor of our government with amendments to strengthen its striving for a more perfect union, new laws to prevent government takeover by deviants working against our laws, precedent and procedures and more active participation of ordinary citizens in national life, beyond their personal and narrow interests. It doesn't need a holiday or significant date but a national upsurge in the sentiment 'viva America', long-live the USA, a more perfect union, a community working together again.
I agree with the need for the approach you suggest, but I think you underestimate the emotional impact of marking a day that brought us to the brink. I don't think of it as a celebration, but a day of reflection.
Hey Nic, good to hear from you. I trust you got my Thanksgiving thank you.
My sentiment as a citizen who watched the tv insurrection develop is not to elevate the day and thereby elevate haters, bigots, anarchists and anti-American actions. Likewise I was glad when Facebook and other media refused to print Trump any more. The less visibility, the better for America. Regardless of a set-aside day, those involved in January 6th will memorialize what they want. In some cases it will be those in jail lamenting their downfall; elsewhere it may be hate groups continuing their evil doings; none of that deserves a 'day' set aside, even if not a 'holiday' which should be reserved for doing good. If Americans are not yet emotional about insurrection day, it's a failure of politicians to spread the word and needs correction, not a 'day'. I foresee a drumbeat of administration and state/local officials touting positive changes to laws to preserve the union extending to the points where (a) hate groups have been sued out of existence as Southern Poverty Law Center(SPLC) once did and ACLU/NAACP Legal Defense have done before, (b) perps from 1/6 capitol entry are convicts, (c) planners and plotters from Steve Bannon/Sean Hannity to Trump are indicted and jailed (if not banned from future office holding). With my course of action, voters in November should sweep the malcontents and grifters and oath breakers from office ala 1964 Goldwater and 2020 Trump defeats including dissidents at all levels of government. All of this takes intellectual and practical action beyond emotion. The nation deserves nothing less. I aim for your 'reflection' as an ongoing effort of citizenship defined by Biden and company over the next 9+ months.