Two weeks ago to the day, a riotous mob invaded the Capitol and attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election by disenfranchising millions of voters. The mob failed, democracy prevailed.
This is of no small moment. For two centuries, no mater our internal failings, we have shown the world that our democracy was sound. Every four years, after the competition for our nation’s leadership, the candidate that won did not attempt to punish his vanquished opponents. And the politically vanquished peacefully accepted the loss, participated in the peaceful bestowing or transfer of power, and resolved to move forward to earn the future support of our fellow citizens.
Sadly, almost tragically, that did not happen this year. Instead, fueled by lies that preyed on the fears of many, thousands of people gathered to try to stop the certification of the 2020 election. Some came to make their voices heard, others had more malevolent motives. We’ve heard the the increasing body of evidence. We’ve seen the videos taken by the insurgents memorializing their efforts. We will learn more as time passes.
We have also read and heard the words spoken with great conviction that spurred the insurgents on. Specious claims of election fraud without any supporting evidence, advanced by those who had some patina of authority - congressmen, senators and yes, the president. And too many of our fellow citizens, hoping for a different electoral outcome, were fed lie after lie after lie by alleged “news” organizations, targeted messages on social media, and conspiratorial websites on the dark web.
As a result, fear became fantasy, and fantasy became “facts.” Perhaps they didn’t see the lies, preferring instead to embrace them as “alternate facts.”
Facts are stubborn things, lies are fragile. When lies are subjected to a focused scrutiny, they quickly fade away - destroyed by the facts they seek to supplant. This is why no evidence was presented of any systematic fraud. This is why the Attorney General, the incumbent’s strongest supporter, declared that there was no evidence of systematic fraud. And that is why, in over 60 cases, courts at all levels dismissed these specious claims of fraud.
And still these fearful citizens - our neighbors, friends, and perhaps family members - persisted. And they ultimately failed; democracy prevailed.
Although democracy prevailed, these events revealed democracy’s fragility. We are a deeply divided people. Making it more difficult to close the gaps between us is the realization that we have no common acceptance of “facts.”
While we overcame the challenges of the post-election period, we still face daunting challenges that would have laid low a lesser people. We are living through the pandemic of a virulent virus that has killed over 400 thousand of our family, friends and neighbors, with millions more infected with this disease.
Compounding the effect of the virus is the millions of people who through no fault of their own lost their jobs, with the predictable results of housing, income, and food insecurity. More than 1/6 of our population haven’t enough to eat. We can expect evictions to exponentially increase in the coming months. Because of medical expenses, too many will need to file for bankruptcy.
And a lack of political leadership and will, in tandem with and reflective of our national divide, only permitted a small amount of relief to those suffering most, with months passing where people got no help at all.
All this is on top of our existing challenges of racial injustice, income inequality, and inexorable climate change. There are many more too numerous to cite, but all need attention and seemingly need it now.
So why am I optimistic? Because today, in our civic religion, is a day of renewal. Today is a day of hope where we can all begin again. We will have our disagreements but we need not see our political opponents as enemies. I have many friends with whom I disagree and they vigorously disagree with me. But if we keep the dialogue open, we find that we have much in common. We find that we share the same goals, what’s left is an argument - no small thing - about methods.
On this day, while anyone who knows me knows too well that I have my views, I resolve to listen more closely, engage more honestly, and behave more civilly with those with contrary views. Assertions must be tested and as in any sound forensic exercise, truth and facts will emerge. Working together we can build better communities, states, and a country. We must recognize that, in the words of a past president, “we all breath the same air. We cherish our children’s futures. And we are all mortal.”
If we can do this, we can all proudly exclaim each day, week, month, and year “Democracy Has Prevailed.”
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