Jan 14, 2021
An Terribly Unforgettable Day in US History
On January 6, 2021, the United States of America witnessed a blatant act of domestic terrorism when a mob attacked and entered the capitol building, driven by the words of President Donald Trump. Unwilling to admit defeat in the 2020 presidential election, the current president spent the months following the election filling his supporters’ heads with false allegations of voter fraud and the claim that he won. This event was the first time that the capitol has been breached since British troops set fire to the building in 1814 during the War of 1812.
Following the violent protest, Congress reconvened where the counting of electoral votes had been interrupted. Despite the fact that there is no proof of voter fraud, there still remain Republican members of Congress who are calling for additional investigation into the election processes and results in certain states, including Arizona and Pennsylvania. However, Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democratic senator from Nevada stated explained that there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud and stated, “I hope that my colleagues that question the legitimacy of this election in Arizona and all of these other states now see the dire and dangerous consequences of sowing doubt and uncertainty.”
Senators continued to defend the legitimacy of president-elect Joe Biden’s win, including Tammy Duckworth, a Democratic senator from Illinois, who declared, “I believe in a government of, by, and for the people, where voters choose who leads them, not the other way around.” What the so-called “patriotic” supporters of Trump need to realize, is that him insisting that he won the election does not make it true.
The US is at a point where everyone, regardless of political affiliations must come together. The violent mob at the capitol proved that the American democracy is in a very fragile state. Chris Van Hollen, a Democratic senator from Maryland commented, “I hope that we will learn from what happened today, the mob attack on this capitol, the price we pay when we don’t stand up for truth and for democracy,” the truth being that there is nothing to suggest that any of the allegations by Donald Trump against the election are true.
