The Capitol Attacks: Thoughts of an Independent

 

The Capitol Attacks: Thoughts of an Independent

Published by Contributor - Zach

January 6th, 2021 is a day that will live in infamy, for it was the first time in two-hundred years that the U.S. Capitol was stormed and occupied by non-government entities. I never thought that this was something I'd say - but it is the reality of the situation we have found ourselves in.

The current temperature of our political discourse is at an all-time high. We have turned up the temperature to the boiling points of violence and toxic raging anger. At the top of this, we have allowed for a culture of disinformation to permeate our discussions and processes of thought in an effort to invoke our emotions. This cannot remain or we will be unable to function as a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

The incitement of this violence was over an election many had believed to be stolen - led astray by conflicting news reports and conspiracy theorists. It sowed distrust in our democracy, and led to feelings of stirred rejection amongst a subset of American citizens. Ultimately, this led to the pure civil chaos that had erupted amongst us, taking five lives on a fateful day where our elected officials were under threat, where our security procedures had either delayed or failed us, and where we shocked the world that had seen the United States as a beacon of civil debate and honest freedoms. 

When we lose these ideals, we find that we are incapable of friendship with those whom we disagree. Arguments turn into bitter fights, shouting matches, and form the destruction of personal relationships. This affects and splinters families, tight knit groups, and those with the strongest of bonds. It spews toxicity into our lives and only amps itself up over time, causing the anger to smolder, boil, and spill over into our actions. It takes away the very essence of who we are and replaces it with naught but the flames of hatred and the creation of violence.

We must find a way to trudge forth better, to restore civility to our debates, to restore respect to our discourse. If we are unable to do so, then we may fall as many other empires have in the past. For it is we who forge our destiny anew, and choose the winds of fate to which we follow.

~Zach

ADDITIONALLY: Audio for this post is now available @ https://soundcloud.com/theindependenceproject/the-independence-project-2020-thoughts-of-an-independent-1102021-edition - check us out!