January 6th 2021

 

Today January 6th 2021 an angry mob who had be instigated by those in the highest offices in the land decided to take over the Capital of The United States of America, and they successfully lay siege of the Capital for several hours today. 

Today is a day that will tragically go down in history. I am tried of living through history and historical moments. But living through history is what we all are doing right now.

The last time the US Capitol was over run in such a manner was during the War of 1812 according to Samuel Holliday, director of scholarship and operations with the US Capitol Historical Society.

D.C is going to be under a curfew for the next 15 days in part because the city does not trust Trump not to egg on people to try again.

Today was the Electoral College certification a manly ceremonial activity that happens every presidential election cycle but this run of the mill, normally barely news worthy event, became the flashpoint for this mob because they had been told that Congress could overthrow the results which is not true. 

This was a scary moment and we are all holding our breath to see if democracy in America is going to continue. A moment when world leaders statements sounded like those given when dealing with elections in failed states. 

"Shocking & deeply sad scenes in Washington DC -- we must call this out for what it is: a deliberate assault on Democracy by a sitting President & his supporters, attempting to overturn a free & fair election! The world is watching! We hope for restoration of calm," said Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, wrote, "I believe in the strength of US institutions and democracy. Peaceful transition of power is at the core. Joe Biden won the election."

I am hopeful that as a nation we will be able to come through this and continue to be a democracy both for our own stakes and for every other democracy in the world, but nothing is certain right now, nothing is clear. 

Congress is back at work tonight, after they finally removed the mob from the capital, and sometime in the early morning hours it is likely they will finish the job that they have started and will certify Biden as our next president. But we will have to wait and see if we can get the sepsis of American democracy that led to today (white supremacy, etc.) under control or if today is a sign that our democracy as we know it will not last many more generations.

May gods and goddesses of every shape and size and form, from times long ago to times yet to come, please watch over us in this moment.