As a mob stormed the Capitol, I cried for our country

Iwill always remember the day

I cried for our country— Wednesday, January 6, 2021. I will never forget the images of protesters,

U. S. citizens, storming the Capitol building of our country.

I cried because this is not the country I served for 31 years in uniform. As I watched these insurrectionists attempting to take over the building, I asked myself what other countries around the world are thinking of theUnited States of America— the country that has prided itself on being the beacon and gold standard of democracy?

Are the leaders of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea gloating? And howabout our allies, many of whom were already disappointed by the leadership of President Donald Trump for the last four years?

When I served on active duty, I had the privilege of visiting a countless number of countries in Europe and Asia, including visits to both Russia ( then the Soviet Union) and China. I must admit that as I met and talked to citizens and counterparts in those countries, I did so with pride but a bit of suppressed cockiness. After all, I was a representative of a powerful maritime power. But more importantly, I represented the United States— themost revered and respected country in the world.

All that has changed. I still love my country, but it no longer commands the respect it once held. If I were to put on my uniform again, visit those same countries and interface with the same individuals, I’m not sure I would do so with the same confidence and cockiness. We are not the same democracy we were just a few years ago.

President- elect Joe Biden has his work cut out for him if we are to regain our stature in the world and be perceived the samewaywe oncewere.

In December, Politico carried a story about South Korea’s perception of the United States as a democracy. The article said that in Korea, the U. S. is called a word that is pronounced miguk. Translated, it means “beautiful country.”

That’s probably appropriate considering how we supported South Korea in its war with North Korea, preventing it from becoming a communist country. Because of that support, South Korea has been able to become one of the world’s strongest economies.

But the Politico article went on to describe how South Korean media now characterize the U. S. The media there question the strength ofU. S. democracy by showing images ofdemonstrators claiming voter fraud or lines of people wrapped around buildings waiting for coronavirus testing.

One headline in a popular SouthKorean weekly magazine read: “The surprising election system that makes you wonder ‘ Is theU. S. actually a democratic country?’”

Politico said the demise of the U. S. and how it lost its way began in 2016 with the election of Donald Trump. And the demise continued with our poor response to the pandemic, distrust in government and a highly polarized political system.

When I initially read the piece last month, I said tomyself, “This is interesting but we as a nation are strong and our democratic principles remain intact. This piece is really a bit of an overreaction.”

I thought that way until a few days ago when Trump began encouraging protests during the congressional certification of Biden’s electoral college victory. “See you

D. C. and be there and be wild,” he tweeted. Trump’s hour- long phone call with the Georgia Secretary of State, in which he tried to convince him to find nearly 12,000 votes, was another signal for the inevitable events onWednesday.

One of Biden’s agenda items is to convene a “Summit for Democracy” in his first year in office. This is a noble endeavor, and I hope he follows through. However, perhaps he needs to look at our own house first.

He can do this by calling for a bipartisan commission to look at our own democracy, includinghowwe vote. We cannothave the same issues in 2024 that we had this past election. Our citizens deserve consistency and national standards — voting equipment, better- trained poll workers, betterorganized polling places, to name just a few issues.

President- elect Biden — the stage is yours. Please heal our country. Godspeed.

Retired Navy Rear Adm. Tom Jurkowsky is the author of “The Secret Sauce for Organizational Success: Communications and Leadership on the Same Page.” Visit his website at tomjurkowsky. net. He lives in Annapolis.