Plenty of blame togo around in Capitol riot
Political leaders, citizens and journalists all needto admit their roles in the leadup to theme lee andwork to unify the nation.
There is much blame to go around for what happened in Washington on Wednesday. Sen. Lindsey Graham and other top allies of President Donald Trump say he should take responsibility for stoking the flames at a political rally that preceded the Capitol siege that claimed five lives, including a police officer. Trump is not the only one who must own actions that put the good of the people last in a twisted political game that has left a dagger in democracy’s chest.
After rioters stormed our nation’s Capitol causing lawmakers to cower inside our most hallowed chambers, Republican congressmen Jim Jordan (Urbana), Steve Chabot (Westwood) and Warren Davidson (Troy) sent out tweets urging an end of violence that their refusal to speak the truth helped instigate.
That night, the trio joined two other Ohio Republicans — Bob Gibbs of Lakeville and Bill Johnson of Marietta — in a futile attempt to block Pennsylvania’s electoral votes clearly won by President-elect Joe Biden.
Jordan and Davidson along with Gibbs and Johnson also voted in favor of objection to counting Arizona’s electoral vote.
That effort went down in flames, too.
Like Trump and every other American citizen, they had not only the right but the obligation to question irregularities. But when those questions were answered — legally, thoroughly and legitimately in nearly 60 court cases — it was time to move on.
It had been proven that Biden had legitimately won the presidential election before Trump’s rally Wednesday and the would-be revolution he encouraged.
But these leaders didn’t simply question the facts.
They willfully created an alternative reality by spreading lies and conspiracy theories. Things someone heard.
And yet, the blame does not lay solely on our political leaders’ shoulders, and saying so would be far too easy of an answer. We are all on the hook. Each pillar of our society — journalists included — played at least some role in this embar
rassment, as did many individual citizens.
We must each own our part of the problem and work to find solutions.
This is a time for soul-searching, to deeply consider how we again become one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
One of the truest casualties of our undeclared war with ourselves is that we have forgotten that having political differences need not make us enemies.
Plainly put, we don’t have to agree with each other to respect each other.
But we do have to accept facts and truth, no matter how unpleasant.
And we have to take responsibility for the outcome of our words and actions. This is even more so for elected leaders, whose position alone gives them great power and influence.
History tells us we can work together and put country before political tribe.
The soul of our democracy and republic is worth it.