Which side of history will you stand on?

A quick Google search will tell you that insurrection is defined as a violent uprising against an authority or government. Optional words, also provided by Google, include rebellion, uprising, revolt, mutiny, revolution, or insurgence.

Another quick Google search will tell you that revolution is defined as a forcible overthrow of a government or social order, in favor of a new system. The options for revolution are much the same as those for insurrection, with the exception of the use of the words riot or rioting.

Some of those supporting what took place on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in our nation’s capitol wish to call the actions of the mob, revolution. I and most Americans see it quite differently. Those actions were insurrection and should be dealt with as such. Some want to compare the actions of this mob to those taken nationwide and worldwide by mob mentality during the movements this summer, but there are vast differences.

At no point did Black Lives Matters supporters or those peacefully protesting attempt to forcibly break into one of our nation’s most venerated institutions, while Congress was working, no less. At no point did BLM supporters or those peacefully protesting parade around inside of the Capitol building with the racist battle flag of a lost cause and the flag bearing the name of another lost cause, nor would they have been allowed to.

For a moment, think back to the summer of 2020 and the protests that engulfed our country. Think beyond the protestors. Think of the images of law enforcement officers preparing, days in advance, to defend private property from said protestors. Think of those same law enforcement officers in riot gear, with assault rifles, with heavy armored machinery, showing their might. Now think of the images from last week. Capitol police leading protestors away from the Senate chambers, Capitol police opening the doors and allowing the protestors into the building, Capitol police posing for selfies with said protestors and doing little as they looted the building.

Now, while you’re thinking, imagine the circumstances if both groups were treated equally. Imagine the bloodshed that would have occurred if the angry mob were people of color forcibly taking the Capitol. Imagine the headlines today if that angry mob were people of color. Imagine if that angry mob had been stoked to the brink of riot and urged to attack by President Barack Hussein Obama.

While most understand that the act of terrorism campaigned for by the individual holding the highest office in the land was despicable, the one shining light was that Congress stayed the course and did their job, despite pitiful objections from obstructionists, and confirmed President-elect Joseph Biden as the president of these United States of America and VicePresident-elect Kamala Harris as the vice-president of these United States of America.

Now it is time for our legal system to do its job and prosecute those insurrectionists that raided the Capitol building along with those that moved the mob to take such action. It is time for those insurrectionists to face the hands of justice. We should ask no less of those that led them to act than we do of the perpetrators. After justice is served, then is the time for healing. As a nation, we cannot abide such an assault on our liberty and our freedom if our Democracy is to survive.

Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2021 will now find its shameful place in American history, with Dec. 7, 1941, and Sept. 11, 2001. Which side of history will you decide to stand on?