January 6, 2021 – call it what you will, but it is now a “Day that will live in Infamy” on a similar level with December 7, 1941, and September 11, 2001, when attacks upon the United States of America were carried out by people intent on bringing permanent harm to our nation, our people, our form of government, and our way of life.
Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution of the United
States defines treason rather narrowly as “levying war against the United
States, or “adhering to their enemies giving them aid and comfort.” In my opinion, and that of others of greater
note, that definition is narrow and too vague, leaving us with an inability to
call to account some who intended, and who have brought, permanent harm to our
nation that might be described as ‘treasonous.’
It may well be too early to talk of treasonous actions, but
it is not too early to use the term “treachery” in talking about the planners,
sponsors, and participants in this horrendous domestic terrorist attack upon
our seat of government.
The New World dictionary defines Treachery and Treacherous
by use of such words as: “betrayal of trust or allegiance; disloyalty and
unfaithfulness in regard to one’s country…’”
And then points to other words
that might carry relevant meanings such as ‘Traitor’ -- defined as: “a person who betrays his country, cause,
friends, etc.” mentioning ‘faithlessness’ and ‘disloyalty’ as likely synonyms.
ONE particular word definition remains useful in this
context, and that is ‘Insurrection’ -- “a rising up against established
authority; rebellion.” While such action
might be appropriately used against abusive or oppressive government (as in our
own American history), such action demands and requires that adequate
proof/evidence of its necessity be presented to its citizens and to the world
(as in our own Declaration of Independence).
It is not acceptable to
institute rebellion against one’s government based on lies, misinformation,
made-up conspiracy narratives, or especially on one person/leader’s narcissistic
words or directions that are nothing more than results of personality
disorders. If the participants in such
rebellion are involved to satisfy the overwhelming need of one man to escape the
self-imposed indignity or stigma of being a ‘loser,’ then the term ‘insurrectionists’
must give way to the more accurate terms of ‘treasonous traitors’ for they have
acted to harm their fellow-citizens and their legitimate government, and, in fact,
to OVERTHROW the legitimately certified election of a new government on the
lone basis of a lie.
That is why the work of the Justice Department and of the Congressional
Special Committee on the Jan. 6th action is so important. We must know all the facts in order to decide
whether or not the punishment fits the crime; whether or not there is a broad
conspiracy afoot to takeover or to destroy our form of government; whether or
not there needs to be legislation that addresses the situation; whether or not
voting rights will be protected, democracy affirmed, and accountability assured;
and whether or not conspirators should be barred from holding public
office. WE NEED ANSWERS and no excuses
or whitewashing of this incident will ever be acceptable.
Each citizen and every voter have the awesome responsibility
to make a decisive choice between dictatorship of violent extremism or the
continued pursuit of truly representative democracy. It is the one issue we must face in upcoming
elections for nothing else matters – do I vote for dictatorship or democracy?
From many of the discussions
of the one-year anniversary of the attack upon the Capitol, its occupants and
its protectors, we heard many things that should not be forgotten, like the
following primary causes of this terrorist brand of political dissent.
§ Conspiratorial planning – we have pretty good evidence
already that this was not a spur-of-the-moment idea or event. Planning went into it, and members of the
White House and the Congress were undoubtedly part of that planning
§ This may have been only a practice
for a much larger coup d’état still to come in 2022 and 2024
§ Fundamental to this happening in the first place
are at least these factors:
o
Donald
Trump’s inability to accept defeat on any level because he was ingrained
with his ‘father’s principle’ that defeat is a sign of weakness, unbecoming in
a ‘real man,’ a real estate developer or in a leader of men.
o
A
continuous element in American politics of rebellion against
government (especially liberal or ‘socialist’ government) with the added
concept that the use of unethical and illegal means of achieving control from
that government is not only acceptable but preferred, like lying, the use of
propaganda or misinformation to lure others, the use of guns, violent threats,
mayhem and intimidation to coerce adherents and to discourage opposition
o
The
absolute ruse of a fraudulent election in 2020 in which various
invented scenarios claim that the election was ‘stolen’ from Trump by Democrats for Joe Biden (although more
than seventy court cases never presented credible evidence to prove such
cheating ever occurred)
o
That
at a very fundamental level, the loss of an electoral majority of white
Republicans has so frightened that cohort of voters that they have
seized control of local election infrastructure (school boards, town councils,
state legislatures, election boards, commissions that draw voting districts,
etc.) to promulgate laws, rules and procedures that will block multi-racial
minorities from exercising their sovereign right to vote
o
And
equally complicit in this whole matter is a Republican Party apparatus
completely controlled by Trump and his followers; a group of toadies unable to
speak up or speak out against Trump along with his leading congressional sycophants
who bow to his every whim (or who inspire his more bizarre and horrendous
actions)
o
But
finally, are the Trump voters who continue to treat their Donald
as a savior, their hope for a better future, and their answer to controlling
perceived forces that are attempting to take over their lives and their livelihoods. It is this group of Trump cult worshippers
that are integral to preserving and promoting past and future
insurrections. The culture wars are real
for them, and they plan to stay at war if they must to preserve their power and
their control.
It must be
said that it is much clearer how we got to this point than how we will get
through it. Here are some personal
thoughts along with a few garnered from today’s discussions and events:
1. There is a top priority and that is
the passage of the Voter rights bills in the Senate. We must reform certain practices while
maintaining equal access to our right to vote.
There is no place to compromise here.
2. Minority rule must be curtailed quickly and decisively. The filibuster in its present form must
go. We cannot allow a few legislators to
continue blocking major legislation by a procedural vote of closure. Likewise,
it is time to rid the Senate of “member privilege’” which allows just one
member to obstruct passage of a bill.
3. There must be a halt to electoral
college voting – it is another accommodation to the rule of an elite minority
and carries with it the shame of history -- trying to rule with a white elite. It
can be disabled by state laws or by constitutional amendment
4. And that brings to the forefront the
necessity of a change of attitude about representation. In spite of the Preamble to the Constitution
and several of its articles) placing the People in the driver’s seat of this
government, we have clearly reversed the roles, making elected officials the
primary leaders of government rather than the people, strikingly evidenced by
the special privileges accorded members of Congress and the ignoring of overwhelmingly
favorable polling of citizens on major issues. The majority of legislators and
other elected officials see their role as one of leadership on national issues,
rather than representation of constituent views and opinions on all
issues. We must work to change that, and
I have suggested several methods to do so:
a. Change and strengthen the
qualifications and nomination procedures for elective office;
b. Require every elected officer to meet
regularly with one or more Advisory groups of ordinary citizens to solicit
input on major issues and to arrange at least an annual evaluation of that
representative’s performance
c. Involve ordinary citizens in advisory,
people advocacy, and evaluative roles in every Inspector General’s office
d. Establish local oversight commissions
of ordinary citizens to evaluate and recommend policing and judicial techniques
and practices in every appropriate authority
Finally, it
is of prime importance that accountability for miscreant and immoral
behavior be addressed as soon as it occurs.
We must not delay justice for “leaders” anymore than allowed for
ordinary felons. The DOJ rules
protecting a president from arrest and trial while in office must be
abandoned. Likewise, the constitutional
privilege for congresspeople to escape arrest or questioning while in session is absurd and must be
eliminated as well. It is exactly this sort of privilege that leads us astray
from equal justice before the Law. Officials
should bear the same burden of accountability that applies to ordinary
citizens.
If we are
going to come through this dark time in our history, we must address
fundamental changes and stop talking about “doing something.” And above all, refrain from wanting to return
to normalcy or to ‘build back better.’
Neither is adequate to the problems and threats being presented. We have no choice but to go ABOVE and BEYOND
where we have been before to build new approaches and to sculpt more creative
solutions to long-standing issues and problems.
January 6, 2021,
is a tragedy, a day of infamy, a failure and a threat; as well as a challenge,
an opportunity and an opened road leading in a new direction. We must not fail
to make the choice it places before us: to build or to destroy a proactive
democracy dedicated to the well-being and fulfillment of its People’s hopes and
dreams. Every voter faces that one
critical choice in 2022 and in 2024.
