This blog is fast coming up on a year old and I, though contemplating it for some time, still have not yet made a second personal post since the premiere. I jump from topic to topic because unlike my last blog I wanted to keep things simple and write on interests that stick out for a particular day, week or month. I prefer to avoid going into the realm of politics except where most pertinent because my previous failed blog was focused on that and it became too much to handle. Yet on the occasion of today, with the focus on events that occurred a year ago, I feel compelled to make a singular exception.
Responses to the first anniversary (is that really a fitting term for a travesty?) of January 6th have been for the most part quite predictable. For those from outside the United States who may not be aware: at this season in our country's history we are a socio-politically divided nation on a fundamental level, certainly to a scale I have never personally seen in my few decades upon this Earth. That it would escalate to this point was coming for some time because the circumstances of this division are different from matters in times past we could come together in mutual interest to solve. As someone who has studied history his whole life with a focus on the United States I can see disturbing parallels to our present state of affairs and those which led to our nation's civil war in the 1860s. The issues of the day were different back then but the burning question was the same: what would the future destiny of the country look like? The two different answers to that question could not reconcile and that led to a tremendous bloodletting; now it appears history is on the verge of repeating itself if the right lessons fail to be learned from it.
That civil war in the 19th century was not avoided and the reasons thereof are matters of history, thus the past cannot be changed so there is no point in contemplating alternate outcomes except as an exercise for fun speculation (yes, I enjoy the YouTube channel AlternateHistoryHub). In trying to understand why things occurred that did it is worth noting that several Confederate states had not seceded yet before it became clear President Lincoln was going to use military force to subdue to rebels, and a couple others may have followed if not for being on the border and placed under federal occupation. It must also be understood that more than half of the amendments to the Constitution did not yet exist and there was a very different view of how the federalist system was supposed to operate. The Republican Party may not have been interested in escalating conflict with Southern Democrats, certainly not to the breaking point of war, but election of the moderate Republican Lincoln still represented a perceived existential threat to the Southern way of life through denial of power over their own destinies.
Today the situation is remarkably-similar if with a role reversal: ever the party of Lincoln and promotion of individual liberty Republican states (moreso than the national GOP) are bucking centralization of control while Democrats have been on a quasi-religious crusade of change ever since Barack Obama declared a quest to "fundamentally transform" the US. In the realm of politics it is normal to turn occurrences into crises and crises into opportunities to advance an agenda, but through most of America's history things were kept from going overboard between people sharing in the fundamental institutions that built the country up and made it great plus the moderating influence of shared spiritual faith...in other words, the basic building blocks of an independent society. When that sharing no longer exists due to divergence in what people accept as essential truth, wise men may consider making proclamation along the lines of "When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another..."
As much as headlines on both sides of the aisle are bringing up terms such as "national divorce" or even "civil war" there are reminders of how unity is what made us so strong over the years and why keeping it is desirable, just as is the case with any mutually-beneficial relationship. The problem is that equation of mutual benefit keeps getting skewed by the factor of "playing politics" which is basically an attempt to avert responsibility by placing it on the opposition, and many people can understand how freedom does not work without responsibility preempting its abuse. At this point "Red" country pledges allegiance to the flag and Constitution, taking that pledge seriously through the lens of the legacy of those who first formed both, "Blue" country pledges the same while seeking to implement their own new ideas on how to improve the nation and in turn the world. Both usually differ in how they address issues but ultimately have wanted the same kind of outcome which is what is best for the general interests of the people...or at least that was the case until recently when fundamental change became the Blue platform and there were more radicals in office with fewer qualms about declaring the founding ideals of the country flawed and in need of replacement, leaving the Red platform looking more like the lone stalwart of what makes America what it is. Both sides proceed with the belief of being on the right side of history, thus leading once again to the present scenario of two mutually-exclusive visions squaring off against each other.
In the middle of this all were the elections of 2016 and 2020, both already in history as among the closest and most hotly-contested on record (the 2017 transfer of power, contrary to many Blue claims, was not in fact 100% peaceful). Then came a global pandemic, putting all people on edge and priming certain radicals to exploit an unfortunate incident of excessive force into a tool to advance the fundamental change they sought. Pandemic also led to expedient changes in the way elections were conducted, a trend that made many suspicious well before it happened, and the results being so close only fueled the powder keg that had already been building.
"Insurrection" is a political term and what happened on January 6th clearly did not qualify: there was no attempt to overthrow the government, there was never a chance of disrupting government business to a point of altering outcomes, and for all the threats of force very little was used; if it was a serious attempt at any of the above it sure was one of the most under-planned, under-coordinated and under-executed ever done. The excessive blame on President Trump only further vindicates him with common sense as he had nothing to gain and everything to lose by events turning out the way they did. Not all the trials have been held, evidence presented, and questions answered about who was involved and why, but one thing I find certain is that the high road has been eschewed in favor of playing politics to another level (which was only further confirmed by today's remarks from President Biden and Vice President Harris).
A little under a year ago when these events were fresh I anticipated Democrats using January 6th for a "Reichstag Fire" event and have not been proven incorrect about that. Just as with President Obama's first two years in office this initial phase of the Biden Presidency has been marked with anything but unity as Democrats once again take their command of both the Executive and Legislative Branches as carte blanche to proceed as they see fit regardless of dissent, only this time around with margins thinner and tensions higher there has been no cause for one side to withhold expression of disdain for the other. It has been confirmed in recent journalistic studies that Americans on the right tend to be more forgiving and consider those on the left to be victims of their own ignorance, while people on the left express hatred of those on the right based on belief that those who disagree with their "progressive" ideals are evil and deserve punishment for standing in the way of their happiness (it should be worth nothing that logic finds the concept of basing happiness on the affirmation of those one hates to be self-defeating).
January 6th was a riot, nothing more or less. While I forgive my own Senator Ted Cruz for using the term "domestic terrorism" because that is the official designation by the Department of Justice for the events of that day, such nomenclature is still questionable. Rioting is not a valid tool of political discourse, nor is it even an effective one because indiscriminate violence has proven more likely to undermine causes by shedding of innocent blood than advance them by cowing populations into submission. But what of threats of violence or even focused and regulated acts? While many modern states assert the traditional role of monopoly on violence in order to achieve law and order, the United States is a free society with a Constitutional clause (the Second Amendment) guaranteeing such power is to be dispersed among the people.
That, in so many ways, shows where our tipping point today is: the issue of centralization versus decentralization of political power. The federalist system pre-1860 got put to the test which in 1865 saw the federal government assert direction over the states, compromising that dispersion of power (even if it was for good cause at the time). Because Blue America has abandoned self-accountability via spiritual moderation that has inevitably led to a philosophy among its adherents that, in regard to advancing the agenda, the ends do justify the means to them. Without any spiritual basis what that agenda entails is uncertain but the writings of Saul Alinsky are telling: the quest of the radical is the attainment of power at all costs. This has fueled a fear among Republicans that when the Democrat Party takes control of Washington it will push a costly agenda by hook or by crook, while Democrats similarly fear Republican policies will make life more challenging for them to get ahead because they are attuned to believe such achievement is unlikely without government support. The further apart they drift the less room there is to come together and craft a solution that fulfills the best general interest, fomenting further chaos and the resultant calls for stronger order.
There are few figures providing such a stark example of escalating and exploiting crises as Chancellor Palpatine of the Galactic Republic. Civil war had prompted unprecedented growth of his political power as chief executive, chipping away layers of accountability in a government had already over the years become nominal in its purpose of representing the interests of the citizenry. The spiritual guardian caste of the Republic, the Jedi Order, were the only ones wise and powerful enough to provide accountability when there was no other option. Yet the Jedi had problems of their own making as their Order had become a dogmatic religion with bends of ambition, abandonment of their core values causing one of their best to question his faith. Compassionate understanding may have averted the tragedy to come, but the Jedi's denying of such to Anakin Skywalker opened him up to exploitation by Palpatine.
The Jedi were not yet aware that Palpatine was the adherent to the antithesis of their faith, a Dark Lord of the Sith, though they could tell the influence of evil was growing and they were powerless to stop it unless its source could be discerned. Even before discovering this fact the Jedi Council knew Palpatine to be corrupted, contemplating taking him into custody and assuming temporary governance of the Republic until stability could be restored. Their own Grandmaster warned that such thoughts took them to a "dark place" and they must act with "great care." The Jedi were good people who knew seizure of power by force was an absolute last resort that must pass the most stringent tests of justification.
While this was taking place Palpatine manipulated Skywalker into disclosing to the Jedi Council his Sith identity, a truth that would ultimately remain hidden from the general public. As Palpatine predicted the Jedi acted on impulse and immediately moved to arrest the Chancellor, crossing the line into what could be considered a treasonous coup. When that coup failed (thanks to Anakin choosing to betray the Jedi for their excessive methods), Palpatine instead became the seizer of opportunity that day. In very quick succession: 1) the entire Jedi Order were branded traitors and hunted to extinction, Palpatine removing what he considered the only true threat to his ambitions; 2) Chancellor Palpatine reformed the Republic into the Galactic Empire and declared himself its lifetime Emperor; 3) with all his co-conspirators either dead or sworn to absolute loyalty the truth was forever buried that what got Palpatine into his position in the first place was his secret manipulation of greedy factions that triggered the whole civil war. Decades of oppression would follow as Emperor Palpatine consolidated that which his Sith philosophy extolled the pursuit of above all else: power.
I have learned to resent political labels, even though when I was still in college a dozen years ago I may have liked to consider my adherence something like "religious right" with libertarian leanings. My faith in Jesus Christ is the core of my identity and that will never change even if everything else does; this is important because faith is the gauge of truth (as explained in my premiere post) and truth defines all else in life. Beyond that, as an American descended from a passenger aboard the Mayflower, a soldier who fought on the Patriot side of the American Revolution and a later soldier who fought on the Union side of the Civil War, I see as my ancestors did which is to understand how centralization of power leads to oppression. Power itself must be enabled to use for good but only with both the strongest systems of accountability and as wide a dispersion as practical, and I believe that is the very structure provided by our United States Constitution because it accomplishes both these stipulations through empowerment of the individual citizen.
Political crisis afflicted the early days of America just as it does today, thus why President John Adams believed it important to declare the liberties so hard-fought and precious would lose their meaning of used frivolously in his famous assertion, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." Whether it is a corporate executive believing it to be his place to control the dialogue for a whole society, a politician acting as if whatever goes wrong is always either not wrong at all or someone else's fault, a panhandler lying to eke out sympathy cash, or an alpha boss treating other human beings as stepping stones on the way to success, history has been kind to those who attain privilege (especially if rightfully-earned for themselves through judicious achievement) but not those who abuse it for their own ends. In turn history rarely takes time to acknowledge the everyday people who keep it all going regardless of adversity, but there are occasions (even ironic ones from detractors) that put in the spotlight those who love their fellow man and will fight to the end to protect fundamental freedoms from being transformed at the whim of powermongers.
What is to be learned from January 6th? For one thing: those who fail to heed the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it. What are the pertinent lessons of history to this time of crisis? The same as they have always been as each succeeding generation of Americans came united to overthrow parliamentary oppression, check imperial encroachment, abolish slavery, then fight for self-determination of overseas peoples and lead the international alliances that defeated fascism and communism: it all starts with the power of the United States citizen exercising his duty. What does that duty entail? Well, safe to say the answer to that is worth a post all its own, and this one has gone long enough already; I may yet write my own assessment of this question someday, but to get things started now I like this perspective from a retired solider (the comments are a also pertinent addition): https://soldiersystems.net/2016/02/26/terry-baldwin-citizenship-in-a-republic/. Happy 2022 and may it be safe and wonderful for all of you!
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD..." Psalm 33:12a
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