A dark and extraordinary day in American history

The disturbing rampage in and around the Capitol Building that shocked the national conscience on Wednesday was not a political protest. It was a disgrace. It was not a defense of democracy and the Constitution. It was an attack on them. It was not an act of patriotism. It was an act of criminality in service to conspiratorial delusion. Those involved succeeded only in debasing the very principles they claim to revere.

President Donald Trump did himself and the country no favors by inflaming his supporters earlier in the day with a speech implying Congress would overturn the November election results. And once the violence began, he followed that up with a vainglorious and tepid Twitter statement that left much to be desired and came far too late. It fell to President-elect Joe Biden to say what needed to be said.

“Let me be very clear,” Mr. Biden said in a hastily called news conference. “The scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not reflect the true America, do not represent who we are. I’m genuinely shocked and saddened that our nation, so long a beacon of hope and light for democracy, has come to such a dark moment,” he added. “America’s about honor, decency, respect, tolerance. That’s who we are. That’s who we’ve always been.”

A few hours after demonstrators breached the Capitol — photos showed insurgents sitting in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and at the Senate dais, while one woman was shot and killed — the situation had calmed somewhat. As darkness fell, D.C. and Capitol police, who appeared wholly unprepared for the unfortunate events, finally became more aggressive and succeeded in moving the crowd to disperse. There will be time down the road to determine how these violent vandals were able to overrun vital government buildings virtually without resistance, but in the meantime, those who broke the law need to be identified and punished under all applicable statutes.

If any good is to come of this dark and extraordinary day in American history, perhaps it will be a re-examination of a scorched earth politics of anger — fueled by social media, a 24/7 cable news cycle and political leaders on both sides of the aisle who preserve their powerful sinecures by sowing the seeds of division — that demonizes and dehumanizes the opposition at the expense of civility and respect. Political disagreement and partisan loyalties are no justification for rioting and lawlessness.

In the end, the protesters utterly failed in their exceedingly misguided objective. Congress, despite a short delay, will move forward with the certification of Mr. Biden’s Electoral College victory. American democracy — sometimes ugly, but always resilient and robust — carries on.

The views expressed above are those of the Las Vegas Review-journal.

All other opinions expressed on this page are those of the individual artist or author indicated.