When exercising a right is poor judgment
If I thought Donald Trump had proof — beyond repeating over and over again — that widespread criminal acts in many districts across the nation stole the election from him, I too might have rushed to Washington D.C. on Jan. 6 in a last-ditch attempt to save our democracy.
But that proof was non-existent. Instead for two elections in a row, it’s been clear that the majority of Americans wanted somebody other than Trump as president.
In 2016, Hillary Clinton garnered 2.8 million more individual (popular) votes than Trump.
In 2020, Joe Biden garnered 7 million more individual votes than Trump.
Unfortunately, our antiquated Electoral College system does not give equal weight to each registered voter in the U.S. — instead it enables voters in a handful of “swing states” to determine the outcome of our presidential elections.
So, to reiterate, the majority of voters across this country were opposed to Trump in 2016. A growing number said “no” in 2020, and this time, their wishes were reflected in an Electoral College count in favor of Biden.
Rather than debate whether this or that person living in Rappahannock County had a “right” to travel to Washington D.C. on Jan. 6 to express support for Trump, let us ponder whether that person was misinformed, showing poor judgment, and taking a harmful stand.
In a far-sighted tweet on Nov. 6, Utah Senator Mitt Romney noted that Trump was free to request recounts and present valid evidence of fraud, but “is wrong to say that the election was rigged, corrupt and stolen — doing so weakens the cause of freedom here and around the world, weakens the institutions that lie at the foundations of the republic, and recklessly inflames destructive and dangerous passions.”
Two months after Romney’s tweet, we got to see the results of Trump’s inflaming of “destructive and dangerous passions.”
I hope those who were inflamed are now taking a breather, giving themselves time to reflect on how their emotions were whipped up by hearing a litany of lies about a “stolen election.”