January 6th and Hope

The Peoples responsibility.

One American’s journey to stop the next January 6th.

It’s 12:02 AM January 6th, 2022, I’m in my robe, air pods blasting Tycho. I have put this off long enough. I always procrastinate that which makes me most uncomfortable. I want this substack to be a place for ideas and hope, not negativity. But I will often write of responsibility and for one to live up to their responsibilities as an American, one must sometimes feel uncomfortable.

Why do I feel so uncomfortable about it?

Well, it’s a long story but the short of it is—I’m scared.

I remember watching last year. It gave me a sick feeling in my stomach as they started to attack capitol police and with each passing second, I kept saying “someone has got to stop this” but no one did. How could that be? How could any American watch service members attacked and do nothing? How could anyone hear a chant to hang the Vice President of America and not send help? How could any person watch other people get beaten and not want to help?  I knew Trump was bad, I said it to anyone who would listen, but I never thought he could be that devoid of heart. If a man that heartless could obtain power that grand, then our freedom isn’t as secure as we might think. The thought of that terrifies me. The reason it terrifies me so much is because my friends and family get upset at me for bringing up the events of that day. I don’t like to make others feel bad or uncomfortable so I conform, I change who I am to fit in but is that the right path? Am I the one who should change or or is it them? If the most reasonable among us don’t talk about it, then the radicals will shape the story. We’ve seen radical framing of events before in our history, anything resembling the “last cause” should be shouted down every chance given. We can’t be afraid to make others uncomfortable, we must to work to preserve our democracy and most importantly, preserve truth.

Don’t worry I will end this with hope, please keep reading.

What did I do after?

After January 6th I decided to try and understand what I saw. I began studying our founding, which led me to other empires and governments, philosophy, psychology and sociology. On this journey I learned about myself, my country, my government and ultimately, I came to understand what I saw on the 6th.

What did I see on January 6th?

I saw a weak spot in the armor. Our government has protected our freedom for over two centuries, but time wears on us all and our government is no different. We can ignore the weak spot and pretend like everything is ok, or we can talk about how to fix it? If we choose to ignore it, others will use our silence as complicity to try again. Next time they may get away with it.

What is the problem we face?

We face a crisis of leadership. Do we have terrible leaders? Yes. Is it all their fault? Absolutely not. We, yes us, everyday Americans need to shoulder some of the responsibility. We elected them. The weak spot is us; the people, and we need step up and do our job.

How do we fix it?

The solution is both simple and difficult. We try. We get involved. Every American needs to take his citizenship seriously. We should spend more time understanding our government and history than we do pursuing happiness, more time working on our republic than our hobbies. We should take time to get to know our local government representation by volunteering and attending campaign events for all the candidates on the ticket, not just the one with the letter we like next to their name. We have a responsibility to seek out our own information rather than just what others want us to know. The idea is simple but motivating enough people to get involved will be difficult. Luckily Americans love a good challenge. It’s our competitive spirit combined with our virtue that has defined us as a people and it’s now time for a new generation to define America.

I believe in America. We can do this.