America, It’s Time to Give It a Rest

This past week, The Washington Post reported the use of new security footage from the Jan. 6 Capitol riots in Trump’s Senate impeachment trial. The heretofore unseen imagery included scenes of former Vice President Mike Pence and his family being rushed out of harm’s way amidst an angry mob that was reportedly out for blood.

The same day, the violent Trump proponents broke down a door to gain access to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s office, where her cornered staffers barricaded another door and took refuge under a table.

The din and disarray of the Jan. 6 incident, sad in its own right, cost the outrageous price of five lives. But it’s one in a string of sad violent acts trailing back over the past year. Aren’t we done with the violent riots, shootings, and hate-laced vitriol?

The WHO declared COVID-19 an ailment of pandemic-proportions last March. It has nearly been a year. Our nerves are still all on edge, and the response has largely been civil unrest.

During the course of these last twelve months, the maximalists have taken the stage. Free speech has been reduced to volume, rather than weight; to that which gratifies, rather than that which carries the truth. So for the maximalists in an increasingly polarized country, might makes right.

But the American people have forgotten that neither power nor popularity are criteria for what is true. On whatever side of the political aisle you stand, it’s best to seek the truth. And that’s found outside your bias blinders.