We Didn't Present a Good Face Toward the World, Yesterday!

I spent yesterday with errands and working on my knitting, until finally phoning Aearwen for our weekly chat late in the afternoon. That's when I heard about the events in Washington DC. I hadn't had the TV or any media on all day, and my computer hadn't been involved since early morning. Usually I'm not behind the times that much, especially for serious events, but this time I was oblivious. 

The Capitol hasn't been stormed and Washington DC hasn't 
been under "attack" since the War of 1812. That's the 
war when the "White House" was burned and Dolly 
Madison rescued Washington's portrait. 

I suppose I'm rather grateful about that, all things considered. It does no good to be upset about something I can't do anything about. But really - what a sorrowful thing. Watching the US Capitol being assaulted by people from our own nation - people who are determined that their candidate didn't actually lose the election. 

The joint houses of Congress, meeting to endorse the 
electoral college votes, were under attack. One woman 
was shot and died. I think there was a total of four 
people dead by the end of the night, but I'm not 100% 
sure about that - have to check more news stories 
for confirmation. But what a mess. Even Nixon had 
more class than Trump, and that's saying a lot! 

Democracy is not a perfect dessert. It's the kind of dessert where the kids tried to help and instead of perfectly shaped cookies or a lovely lattice-top on a pie, you get blobs of cooked dough and a much more abstract crust effect. There are no perfect styles of government, but for more than 200 years, democracy has worked in this nation. The peaceful transition of power from one elected official to another is foundational in our democracy, and despite the events of yesterday, it continued on and it will still occur. 

Not everything is pretty all of the time. The key is 
picking up the pieces and moving forward. The nation 
is divided right now, almost as much as it was during 
the Civil War. But now it isn't area-specific. Now it 
is between neighbors and relatives. It is dividing 
families and houses. It's going to be hard to overcome 
all of this, but we have to try. 

My fear is four years from now when this poison will attempt to spread again. That's when all of this hatred can potentially rise again, attempting to splinter the American people into small segments of population looking over their shoulders at their next door neighbors. Donald Trump is a one-term President. He can run again, and I think he plans to do so in 2025. That's what frightens me. That's what should frighten all of us. 

As always, be kind, stay safe, and please wear a mask. We'll survive this because we're resilient and have a strong structure of government, but it's up to us to smother the hatred under a blanket of kindness. I'll be back tomorrow.