I am sure that most of you watched the horrors of January 6th unfold throughout the day. It was unnerving and that awful feeling in my stomach was eerily reminiscent to watching the horrors of 9/11. The events were surreal and watching those people in our Capitol was infuriating. Let us not try to find subtle language or some friendly terminology for the people that stormed our Capitol: they were terrorists. Period.
The phrase "that is not who we are" has been bounced around, and I am someone that also reiterates this sentiment, but this is not entirely accurate. The bottom line is that for whatever reason anyone supported the man (I will not name) that sits in the White House until January 20th, 2021, all know how horrible of a human he is. We all like to surround ourselves with people that bring out the best in us or make us want to be better; this past president is the antithesis of that. But, we still have a large chunk of our populace that are very much like the terrorists that descended upon our Capitol, or at least empathize with them. So, the rest of us cannot fully claim "that is not who we are", because these hooligans have been seen all over the world for the past five years, and that is a perception we must change.
A Matter of Fact
Facts. I like the word. It is a succinct, one syllable, no nonsense word. The word says it all effectively. Facts make the world safe. When you board an airplane, proven facts of physics and aerodynamics are applied; when we launch our astronauts into space, the same facts are applied. When it comes to safety, there's no room for opinions or "alternate facts" because someone did not like the given facts. Facts should be embraced and maybe have their own holiday.
In college I took an Ethics class and it often become heated about the usual topics of abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, etc... What amazed me were how facts were omitted when it was an issue where someone felt passionate. Usually, something we call a factoid would appear. (A factoid is fiction that has been repeated so often that it is perceived as fact and what I would call bullshit - because, like the word fact, the word bullshit has the same succinct effect, but with an effective one-two punch.) This class took place in the early 90s at the inception of the 24 hour news channels and when the radio personalities were building their momentum. I figure there would be too much empty air time and very few listeners if these new media mediums were to stick to reporting just the facts. So, why not tell the people what they want to hear to garnish some ratings, bring on some sponsors, and make big money? If I had to pick when we decided that facts were inconvenient, I would point back to around this time.
Fast forward to 2021 and we are quarrelling over facts. In the age of the Internet, we can now share factoids at light speed around the globe numerous times until it is somehow believed. It feels like some kind of Suessian machine where you shovel in some nonsense on one end, it speeds and agitates around the globe through social media and sordid news outlets many times, takes one last tumble where the odiferous fragrances are removed, and out the other side comes this "alternate fact" that is embraced by millions. But remember folks, a polished turd is still a turd.
The Outer Rim
Have you ever really cleaned a toilet? I mean, have you stuck your head inside and looked under the inside rim? Your fancy shmancy toilet brush rarely gets all the crusted crap out from under there after only a couple of passes and it takes some serious work to get it all out. That awfulness under the rim is what descended upon the Capitol. I would like to hope that some people finally saw the emperor without his clothes on yesterday as he waited close to three hours to send in help to the Capitol (and, I do not know for sure, but I have read that it was actually VP Mike Pence that made the call).
Three hours. Our elected officials, no matter how we feel about any of them individually, were hiding in the basement, locking themselves in their offices, or barricading themselves into any hidden location inside the Capitol during the attack. Keep in mind this also included the people that work in the Capitol that provide services to our elected officials, and having these people also fear for their lives is unconscionable.
Think of it this way, let us say that you work for a large corporation and your CEO is the target of an angry mob. You work in some cube on the second of thirty floors and the thugs come into your building and threaten your life. You do not make the decisions of the corporation, and yet it is your life at risk because you happened to be between their target and the front door. The CEO could call the police to come in and help the four overrun security guards that are currently tied up and stuffed into a janitorial closet, but he is about to be ousted by the corporate board of directors because he's been doing a rather lousy job: he's been embezzling money, he's been accused of sexual harassment, and he has been abusing his position - so he would like to see the place burn down before he gets ousted And there you are, the clerk on the second floor in the middle of an angry mob, with no help on the way. You manage to talk nicely to the IT guy and hide in the server room until the police arrive some three hours later. But, keep in mind, you are not a priority, so it might be closer to four hours before help finds you. Did I happen to mention that the CEO was not even in his office that day and out golfing?
A Matter of Time
Three hours. Our country is under attack and he sat and watched it unfold as his people - yes, his people - attempted to tear down democracy. Our Capitol is hallowed ground. And not to get all religiously iconic here, but our Capitol represents the room(s) where it happens. The heart of our democracy lives in there - sure the other branches are also vital organs, but our Capitol is where the work is done (we could squabble over if the Capitol is the heart or the brain, and that would be a good debate, because we are dealing with hyperbole here and not facts). That we allowed this group to breach the sanctuary of our democracy is shameful. This would be synonymous to terrorists breaking into the Vatican and taking selfies with the iconography in there, standing at the balcony where the Pope speaks, and going though the Pope's personal papers - believe or not believe what you will, but there are places in this world that demand respect.
I will concede that these terrorists are not "who we are" but there is a large faction of Americans that cheered for this group on January 6th and those that despite facts, still supported these people and him (I almost wrote "actual facts" or "real facts", but why should I give any kind of adjective to a word that already says it all - why should I have to differentiate?). I will not get into that, but everyone knows he has broken laws, commandments, vows, contracts, and all sorts of other statutes along the way in his life and we are well aware of his thoughts on race and religion, and yet none of those were a deal breaker. That is on their conscience, not mine. Ergo, these terrorists do not represent "who we are" as a nation, but we have to do something about them and how we are viewed around the world. It is going to take tremendous effort, some serious soul searching in all of us, and yes, another deep scrubbing under the rim.
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