September 11, 2001. That was the last time I felt gut-punched like I did yesterday. That was the last time that someone attacked our government, our democracy, our country. As we did on 9-11, Kathleen and I spent all day glued to the television, flipping channels, and trying to make sense of the disgusting images unfolding on the screen.
As I write these words, I am already breaking my New Year’s resolution to avoid talking about politics in my blog. Obviously, the events of yesterday moved me to take this step and made it impossible to remain silent. As a historian, I had images flashing through my mind of other times when our Capitol was under attack. In 1812, invading British forces took the city and burned the White House; in 1856, a Southern congressman used a cane to beat a US Senator bloody and unconscious at his desk in the Senate chamber because he was an abolitionist who spoke out against slavery; a few years later, that same issue resulted in a civil war in which Washington DC had to be turned into a fortress because the city was under assault from an invading army; in 2001, the Pentagon and White House were targeted by another enemy who sought to destroy our government. Those efforts all failed to accomplish their goal and our country survived. Even yesterday, all that was accomplished by the sickening, lawless mob was a slight delay of the inevitable. Late at night, despite these attacks and weeks of threats and failed law suits by Trump, both houses of Congress officially affirmed Joe Biden’s decisive victory.
For months leading up to the election, Donald Trump warned the voters that the election of Joe Biden would result in anarchy. He was right. He just didn’t explain that he would be the cause of that anarchy. I now have new images of attacks on Washington to join those of my historical memory. Thousands of seditious thugs tried to stop the operation of democracy while their hats, shirts, and flags bore the slogan “Make America Great Again.” They seemed to have no sense of irony at the fact that the four-year-long reign of terror by King Donald has ripped apart and destroyed a formerly great nation. Nor did they see the disconnect between the waving of American flags while attacking the very things that the flag stands for. All of this happened at the behest of their messiah. At a rally earlier, he repeated his lies about a “rigged election,” and exhorted the mob of mindless cult members to march down to the Capitol Building to disrupt the proceedings. (You can now add “inciting a riot” to his long list of criminal acts while president).
It reminded me of a film biography of Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong that I used to show my students in World History. In 1966, in an event known as the Cultural Revolution, Mao became angry that China seemed to be slipping toward capitalism and away from “pure communism.” He started holding massive rallies with young people and college students, stirring them up with propaganda, and he organized them into groups he called “Red Guards.” They wore red bandanas similar to the MAGA hats and carried copies of a small book called “Quotations of Chairman Mao” (AKA, The Little Red Book). For three years, these people worshipped Mao as a god and became fanatical, marching through the streets attacking journalists, intellectuals, and anyone else who disagreed with their narrow view of the world. (See picture above) Hundreds of innocent people were killed, and by 1969 the nation was so disrupted by their mob actions, that the government had to step in, quietly force Mao into retirement, and try to restore order. Many of the fanatical followers, however, refused to cease their activities, so they were “sent down” to the countryside and forced to do hard labor that sapped their revolutionary energies. I vividly recall a film clip of one such girl who was so unrepentant and radicalized that they harnessed her to a plow in place of a draft animal. The film showed her with a huge smile on her face, happily straining to pull the plow through the fields for the good of China. Perhaps, after January 20th, we can do something similar to the Trump lemmings who attacked our nation yesterday.
Seriously, though, yesterday’s events were all a result of the forces of hatred and intolerance unleashed by a narcissistic president who believes himself to be above the law and who cannot admit to himself that he is a loser.
Something else has been unleashed by Donald Trump, however. During the chaos of the afternoon, the final votes were tabulated in Georgia, and Jon Ossoff was declared the other winner of the runoff election to determine the state’s two senators. In a result that would have been inconceivable just a few years ago, Ossoff, a Jew, and Raphael Warnock, the first Democratic African-American ever elected to the US Senate from a Southern state, will now become part of a Democratic majority in the US Senate, US Congress, and the White House. They, like President-Elect Joe Biden were pushed over the top by people voting for the first time, many of them Black, people who were moved to exercise their right to vote by the dangerous excesses and dictatorial power wielded by Trump. The events of the past four years moved them to take this step, and, like me, it became impossible to remain silent. And make no mistake, the electorate, like the country, is changing. Voters of the near future will be younger, more engaged, and more accepting of differences in race, color, sexual preference, and religion than the people who elected this horrible man.
Hopefully, this dramatic change in government leadership is just the beginning of something that will, indeed, make our country great again.
Trump pitted Americans against one another for 4 years. The GOP enablers are as responsible as he is. Georgia was on my mind and heart and came through thanks to the hard work of people like Stacy Abrams and many republicans who voted democratic or sat this one out. Watch for the blue beltway. Future is hopeful as democracy rang true even in the darkest day. Time to get to work on making America sane again. Covid and the economy will be the priority focus. Not Trump. Yeah!!!!
You’re absolutely right about the complicity of Cruz, Hawley, and the other idiots who are trying to ride Trump’s cult-like followers to the presidency by kissing his ass at all times. Pence and McConnell finally stood up, but it was definitely a case of too little, too late. Had they done their job a little over a year ago, during the impeachment, he would have been removed, and we wouldn’t be in this mess. In the GOP, only Romney has stood tall through this craziness.
Counting the days!
Well said, Jack. I once had a mentor tell me that with growth comes discomfort. It has been a most uncomfortable last four years. Let’s hope we will see real change and growth.
Great point. You echo my most fervent wishes.
And not just MAGA shirts, there was the guy with “Camp Auschwitz” and others with “6MWE” which apparently means 6 million (Jews) wasn’t enough. A truly deplorable bunch.
I was not aware–but I’m not surprised–that that that sort of antisemitism was also on display. These morons have always been fueled by hatred and racial bias. Trump has fanned those flames and turned the haters loose. This is such an embarrassment to us, as a nation, around the world. I’m certain that Putin has a big smile on his face, knowing how this makes “democracy” look in the eyes of the world.
Thuggish behavior, inspired by political leaders, cannot be tolerated anywhere. However, this was a fascist, not a communist insurgency, and these people reject any type of multi-racial democracy. The right wing media has tried to blame it on antifa, even though that is laughable.
I heard the Antifa claim on Fox and just laughed out loud. Do these people even believe their own bullshit?
I too am watching all of this and completely agree with the previous comments. What also absolutely scares me is the ease in which these people were able to get in. We are extremely volunerable to a foreign terrorist attack at this moment with no true leadership in many parts of government. I am extremely concerned about gov agencies that provide security and wondering if these workers truly are living up their oath to the constitution. Is our gov safe within?
Great point, and it gives more reason to remove him from office before he causes irreparable damage (if he hasn’t already done so).
Well Jack, you should have stuck to your New Years Resolution and not put politics in your blog! Half the country still think Donald was a good president! The reason he got in office in the first place is because the people are tired of all the bullshit politicians in the White House! People wanted a change! We got one! He was draining the swamp of the bad actors. He was stopping the pedophile rings. Building a wall to keep the illegals out that were hurting our citizens and the economy! The hatred in the country did not start with Trump. The division started before him. Donald Trump is the result of that division! He did not play the political game. They don’t like that. He was being pushed out before he took office. He did a lot of good for this country and the working class! I can go on and on about his accomplishments, but I don’t want to make this too wordy! Donald is a very Arrogant man and is hard to like, but he is a true patriot and loves this country! There are bigger players that are out to destroy this country and make it a Socialist country. If you look at the history books, socialism doesn’t work! God Bless America! Happy New Year!
Therese, I love you and Bruce. You are among my oldest of friends, and I have known you for more than two-thirds of my life. But in order to preserve that friendship, we will have to agree to stop talking about politics. From now on, just ignore any blogs that concern that subject.
Your comment really makes me sad and points out the worst thing that Trump has done to this country.
The French poet Charles Baudelaire once said, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” It is now clear that the worst crime Trump ever committed, in a long line of crimes, was that he convinced millions of people—including many otherwise intelligent ones—that he was telling the truth. I have many friends and family whose opinions I respect when they are based on facts. But when they begin reciting fanciful conspiracy theories invented by the Trump/Limbaugh/Fox/QAnon crackpots, they lose me.
I am a historian, and I deal in facts, not fantasy. These are the facts, not opinions, concerning some of the points you raised:
–Biden won the cleanest election in history by a wide margin. This is not up for debate. The counts were checked and re-checked numerous times before being certified, usually by Republican officials. As my brother Dan said to me, “It would be nice if everyone who lost could just declare themselves the winners; that way the Bears would never lose a game.”
–Trump’s biggest campaign promise was to build a border wall between us and Mexico and have Mexico pay for it. That border is nearly 2,000 miles long. He has built only 40 miles of new walls, and much of the funding was taken from drug-enforcement and the military budget, thus weakening those areas of the government considerably. It has cost $15 billion dollars in the past four years, and it all came from our tax dollars, without a single penny coming from Mexico.
–The only pedophile to operate in Washington circles in recent years has been Jeffrey Epstein, Trump’s Mar-a-Lago buddy. That other nonsense is just Q-Anon conspiracy crap.
–Yes, it would be nice if someone cleaned up Washington, particularly the influence of lobbyists on politicians of both parties. But Trump did not “clean the swamp.” He made it much worse by making blatant corruption an everyday way of life in the White House.
–The US has delved into socialist reforms periodically beginning in the early 20th Century. Just a few examples: in 1906, we enacted the Pure Food and Drug Act because so many people were dying from consuming poisoned meat and other substances sold in neighborhood stores. In 1935, Congress passed the Social Security Act to help retired people and others who could not help themselves. Then, in 1965, it passed Medicare. This nation is much stronger because of those pieces of socialist reform. Believe it or not, I have looked at a considerable number of history books. Communism does not work, but that is a decidedly different thing than democratic socialism. Small doses of socialist-style reforms exist today in every successful nation in the world, including the US.
Starting in 1776, it took 240 years to build this nation up to a position of power and respect around the world. The “Democratic Experiment,” as it was called in 1789 was the envy of all nations who wished to create a genuine, free democracy. Trump managed to destroy all of that in just 4 years. Now we are humiliated and a laughingstock around the globe. Fifty years from now, when all of the current passions of partisanship have cooled, I have no doubt that Donald Trump will be judged to be the worst President in American history. The others who always rank among the worst were either corrupt or incompetent. Only Donald Trump was both. He will probably be impeached for a second time this week. No other president has been terrible enough to warrant two such censures. No genuine “patriot” would possibly do what he did to this country simply to feed his own massive ego.
What we need more than anything else is to become a nation of facts, not fantasy, again.
Thank you Jack! Never will understand how anyone thought that electing someone like Trump was a good idea. He failed at everything. He failed at business with so many bankruptcies. He was in dire straights financially before becoming a reality star and was becoming so again before running for president. He has always been a con man, all smoke and mirrors. He was a good self promoter making sure his name went up on a building even though they were in hock to the banks. He failed at a casino of all things (how can you not make money in a casino?). Failed at relationships (multiple marriages, multiple accusations of rape and molestations). Notorious for not paying venders. Stole from charity. If not for coming from a rich family he would have most likely been a panhandler on the street somewhere. Unfortunately this could go on and on…
As a historian you know so much more will come out on this mans four years in office and it will not be pretty. It will be a stain on this country and show how naive people were to have followed him. So happy to move on from this dark part of our history.
Perfectly worded and true. Voting him in the first place was our countries biggest mistake. Hopeful that he will never be able to run for office again. He encouraged people to make American look week in this attempted coup. Let’s not forget that they tore down the American flags and replaced them with Trump flags. They broke windows. They wiped feces all over the Capitol building. They killed a police officer. They planted bombs, had weapons, handcuffs ties and threatened the life of VP Mike Pence and others. Trump has for years lied and inflamed hatred and bigotry. His faithful followers believed his conspiracy theories without proof or evidence and many still do. He tore apart his own political party from the start. They have not answered yet why it took so long for the National Guard to arrive. There will be people incarcerated who were a part of this decision to allow them to invade. When Black Lives Matters came to DC to protest there wasn’t a delay to send in the National Guard. Someone at the top has to answer how our Capitol became so vulnerable on January 6th. It actually became vulnerable on November 8th, 2016.
From NYT, post truth era = pre-fascist era
That’s what makes this so scary–it’s all so similar to what happened in Germany in the early ’30s. Right down to the mobs of thugs. In 1933, the Nazis burned the seat of government, the Reichstag, on purpose, and blamed the Communist Party, much like Fox and other “news” outlets blamed Antifa for the attack on the Capitol. Then in 1935, Hitler encouraged mobs of people to attack the Jewish neighborhoods, beating people, burning synagogues, and destroying Jewish-owned businesses. This was the notorious “Night of Broken Glass,” or Kristallnacht. Sound familiar?
Great blog brother, love reading them:)
Thanks for this thoughtful post, Jack. I’ve been thinking a lot about the slogan adopted by The Washington Post in 2017 – “Democracy dies in darkness.” A conspiracy theory doesn’t become true just because it’s in a tweet. An exclamation point doesn’t make a sentence true – facts do. Trump & Co. raised over $200 million in their attempt to disenfranchise millions of Americans and overturn a legal election. They took their case to court, and failed miserably because courts don’t recognize conspiracy theories as evidence. These past few days, dark images from January 6 keep slipping into my consciousness — white supremacists and conspiracy-spouting terrorists in body paint rampaging through the halls of our Capitol; a policeman being clubbed with an American flag; an American president inciting these insurrectionists, then calling his failed posse “very special” and reminding them that he “loves” them. Still, whenever I think of the Divider-in-Chief who managed to lose the House, Senate, and White House for his party – in a mere single term in office — I’m reassured that our democracy is holding strong.
Thanks for the comments about one of the darkest occurrences in our history. I hope you and the fam are doing well.
Hello my MUCH older and MUCH smarter (Except when it comes to welding. You can’t weld worth a shit) brother.
It is EXTREMELY hard for me to ignore absolutely ridiculous comments when I see them. I try, I honestly do, but when someone decides to post bat-shit-crazy conspiracy theories, in response to facts they are basically requesting that people point out their Tinfoil-hat.
QAnon: Followers of the conspiracy theory QAnon believe a lot of things: There’s never been chaos in Donald Trump’s White House. The stories are just cover to let Trump and, previously, special counsel Robert Mueller do their work to expose thousands of pedophiles hidden in plain sight — including Hillary Clinton … and Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama, and Tom Hanks, and Chrissy Teigen. They’ll soon be under arrest, or perhaps they are already on their way to Guantanamo Bay. Their crimes? Torturing and murdering children and then harvesting a chemical from their blood.
WOW! Who doesn’t believe that Forrest Gump is trafficking children to drink their blood???
Honestly I was not as surprised by her QAnon allegiance as much as I was by the fact that she called this useless, piece of shit a Patriot. There has never been a time, in his entire adult life or he put the needs of anyone else, let alone our country ahead of his own personal gain.
I was recently sharing with you, a story of a woman I know who lost her house and her parents house because Donald Trump and his business practices. Practices that involve forcing the smallest companies on any project to sue him to get the money the he OWES THEM, knowing full well that they cannot afford to do so.
This has been a practice of his for over 30 years. This same piece of shit was elected president, by morons that believed he would change from the slimeball he has been his entire life.
And draining the swamp, now that’s comical. No president in history has nominated more unqualified cabinet members than this goofball.
There are too many to mention, but I always think about Brett Talley. The Trump Judicial nominee for a federal Judge job in Alabama, a lifetime appointment. This man has never tried a case or, has ever worked in a courtroom a single day in his life. Yes he was approved with a party line vote.
THANK GOD he withdrew his own nomination rather than embarrassing himself.
The good news is that republicans are turning away from Fox News. The bad news is that they are switching to OAN or Breitbart. So nothing will change in America as long as these people believe everything they see on TV, instead of fact checking things themselves.
Well put. The only thing I would take issue with is your first point. After all, you’ve never actually seen me weld, so how can you disparage my talents in that particular skill.
I believe you just knocked the Duracell off my shoulder…
Spot on, Jack. Looking forward to your next entry. Here comes the inauguration — a day predicted to have violent insurgencies in capitols across the nation. I’m afraid to think what might happen.
Last week, I heard Claire McCaskill, former senator from Missouri, say that she had participated in the official counting of electoral votes two times. She said that she couldn’t remember the event either time, because it was so pro forma–just a boring day of counting and voting approval. Even normal events have become extraordinary under this disgusting president. I am proud, though, that the frightened men and women of Congress were determined to finish the vote that day.
Hi Jack! I was just wondering what you think of impeaching a president that is already out of office? I don’t understand the reasoning behind this. 🤔
I think it’s a waste of time and congressional energy at a crucial time. The reasoning seems to be that they want to make sure he can never run for office again, and a significant number of Republican senators are on board with that idea. After all, when Trump took office, the GOP had control of the House, the Senate, and the Presidency. His antics cost them all three, and even Republicans want him to just go away.
Stay safe and healthy!
One other thing: the White Sox look scary good this year.
Thanks for the info, and yes they do!!! Can’t wait to get back out there!!! Take care!
I respect your insight, just wondering what you think of all these executive orders, especially the XL pipeline that cost thousands of union jobs? Another one that really bothers me is boys in girls sports! I know you were a coach, what are your thoughts on this?