Bright Side and Dark Side of a Monumental Day

JANUARY 6,2021 -A Reflection on a monumental day

After I had time to absorb the events of January 6th , I have concluded it was probably one of the most monumental days in the history of our nation . It was one of the worst and one of the best ironically all in one day. In the end light prevailed over darkness, good over evil and democracy over anarchy .

On the Dark side:
We saw a President Trump spew lies and falsehoods about purported fraud in a free and fair American Presidential Election that he decisively lost.
We saw him encourage the assemblage of followers and incite them as a mob to march on our nation’s Capitol where the Congress was under our Constitution certifying the electoral college votes of our presidential election.
We saw a newly elected Congresswomen from downstate Illinois stand with the President and invoke Hitler as she addressed the crowd, and saw Confederate and Trump flags waving, anti-Semitic and Holocaust Death camps glorified on T-shirts, and much more hate being promoted.
We saw a mob of insurgents storm and defile our nation’s Capitol and the chambers of the Senate and House and saw some people lose their lives during the process
We saw law enforcement unable to contain the mob and prevent them from taking over the Capitol causing Senators and Representatives having to take cover and stop their constitutional duty of certifying the electoral votes of our presidential election despite knowing well in advance of the anticipated assemblage in Washington as called for by President Trump
We saw a distinct and noticeable appearance of how the large crowds of white insurgents were treated and dealt with compared to how similar large crowds were dealt with during Black Lives matter protests during this past summer.
We saw the Senators and Representatives objecting to the certification of electoral votes claiming fraud without any factual basis after countless law suits around the country and recounts and election officials had found no such fraud or reason to question any of the results.

On the Bright side:
In a Georgia Senate runoff election for two Senate seats which would make the difference as to whether one political party would keep control of the Senate under the thumb of their Leader, we saw a Black Minister from Martin Luther King’s Congregation in Raphael Warnock and a young Jewish Journalist in Jon Ossoff both win their elections as Democrats, and become the first Democratic Black Senator for the South and the youngest Senator in the U S Senate, and create a 50 -50 split where incoming Vice President Harris, our first women Vice President will be able to break ties and insure a new Senate leader and an opportunity for debate and votes on issues that affect us all.
We saw the Senate and House not be intimidated by Insurgents who had taken over the Capitol resume their constitutional work of certifying the votes of the presidential election until late into the night to get it done.
We saw overwhelming numbers of Senators and Representatives on both sides of the aisle speak out about honoring the votes of the American people cast in every state and on a bipartisan basis standing up for our Democracy and our Constitution and certifying the results of the presidential election
We saw that certification result in confirming the election of Joe Biden who has committed to being a president of all Americans regardless of who they had voted for.

It was a tough day, but our democracy remains strong. Those who desecrated our Capitol and who participated in or encouraged or incited the insurrection need to be held accountable including President Trump along with others who promoted and incited this affront to our Democracy.

The fact remains that we have significant divisions throughout the country that we need to address. I am hopeful that in short order we will be able to see the healing of our nation and respect by all for the results of the election even as disagreements remain.. We need to be able to disagree with each other without being disagreeable. We have too many challenges to act otherwise. Our Democracy demands no less.. We must all recognize this healing will be difficult We must however give it our best shot. We will have disagreements, and that is to be expected. How we move forward however can make a positive difference. We need to of course advocate for what believe in, but along the way we need to listen to each other. We need to try to get a better understanding of those we don't agree with. Most of us tend to live inside our partisan bubbles, whether it be the news we watch or the social media we follow, or our friendship circles. Yes these bubbles are somewhat of a support system, since they reinforce our perspectives. On the other hand, they do not help us understand or appreciate those outside our bubbles. If there is any chance to mitigate the partisan divide, we all need to occasionally, get outside our own bubbles to listen and have civil conversations with those we disagree with, and expose ourselves to points of view different from our own. It might be a way to start chipping away at the division that is too much a part of the current fabric of our nation. Let’s hope we can make progress.

In the end we are lucky we live in our country. We are lucky to have our Constitution and Bill of Rights. I am hopeful for our future and a better future for our kids and grandkids. It is time to get into some good trouble to make our nation better for all. Though we can and will and must work to build a more perfect union , God Bless America!!!!