Today, we all watched as a mob of Trump supporters invaded the U.S. Capitol, smashing federal property and forcibly interrupting Congress’s confirmation of the election results. Many people across the country were shocked and horrified at the political violence, reminiscent of less stable governing systems but unfamiliar in America. But watching this historic day unfold from rural Texas, the reaction of those around me was telling of how we got here: a shrug and a one-liner. That, well, the Capitol is “the House of the People.” Or “when it was Antifa burning down cities, somehow it was okay.” While I heartily disagree with the rationale, I think it’s very important for our country’s healing to identify the causes of this tragic mess.
This moment was coming for awhile. I have observed two prevailing sentiments here since the November election: an outright anger toward government in general, and an existential fear that life as we know it will end with a Biden presidency. The first may be a Texas reflex, an innate desire to flip the bird to encroaching authority. While most people wear masks where required, the statewide mask mandate and lockdowns in other places are a very contentious issue here. The local elections actually superseded the federal ones in my town, where a new sheriff and judge emerged from the old-fashioned mudslinging. The victors held a rally at the courthouse after votes were tallied, leading the maskless crowd in chants of “END THE TYRANNY!” For what it’s worth, the ‘tyranny’ of mask enforcement is over in the wake of their election, but the coronavirus remains along with frequent public squabbles between anti-maskers and concerned citizens.
Since the election, many of my conservative colleagues have lived in a paralyzing denial, torn between hope spread by right-wing media outlets that question the integrity of several states’ elections and powerlessness that their desired result is slipping away. Business owners and investors are fearful that the tax code will drastically change, and I understand the appeal of clinging to the prospect of unbridled profits and corporate deregulation. Regular folks are fearful of Antifa coming to incite violence (a long shot in small town Texas but a fear nonetheless) and the continued decay of the old-fashioned religious paternalistic order in society. The powers-that-be in right-wing media capitalize on these fears to captivate viewers, which have snowballed (with the president’s help) into a confusing tangle of fake news, whataboutism, and conspiracy theories that have managed to out-compete the facts. In this case, manufactured fear and anger drove hundreds of demonstrators to cross police lines, commit federal crimes, and perpetrate one of the uglier scenes in American history.
Where do we go from here? Condemnation of a third of our country will only intensify resentment and division. I actually find myself in rare agreement with Sen. Ted Cruz, though for a very different reason: we may need a respectable, nonpartisan commission to disprove these fraud claims once and for all…and to communicate the results indisputably. But that’s not all, as we need to shine a light on sources of disinformation, make it impossible to live in a false reality in the 21st century. I hope that history looks back at this moment as a turning point, a definitive dagger to Trumpism that permanently shifts the Republican Party away from its anti-democratic, racist, and extremist influences once and for all. If anything is clear, we have a lot of soul-searching and bridge-building to do.
Worldly Observations 