January 10, 2021
Hello Everybody,
On January 4th I wrote,
"With the rallies tonight in Georgia (Trump and Biden), with the Senate runoffs on Tuesday, with the expected circus in the joint session of Congress on Wednesday to simply try to count the certified electoral votes, AND with The Virus out of control I am feeling like a tornado is raging outside and I need to go in the basement for the next 3 or 4 days and pray."
Little did I know that the tornado would be in the form of a mob of raging homicidal maniacs invading the Capitol.
A friend asked me:
I Imagine that you are paying close attention to the unfolding events in Washington and would welcome any opinions you wish to share. Since you visited there recently, I imagine you have thoughts to share that might represent a unique point of view.
I have no particular insights any better than what you have all read in the media. There has been such an avalanche of reporting that it is overwhelming. My being in the DC area in October and doing my circumnavigations of the White House and the Capitol did give me a sense of the place but beyond that I know just as much (or as little) as you do. I write here today mostly to process my own feelings. And so that my letter on January 4th is not the last in the series.
There will be thorough investigations of these momentous events.
A few weeks ago I read an article which argued that in the interest of unifying the country Biden should forgive Donald Trump for all of his misdeeds. It made some kind of weird sense to me at the time. Now there is no place for that at all. He has to be prosecuted for everything. No mercy. He belongs in jail. This will, of course, further enrage his devoted supporters but we'll deal with that somehow.
Another text conversation I had:
Unbelievable what has happened. Terrible.
It had been brewing for a long time and finally erupted. I'm afraid it is not over.
It has and agree it is not.
Yesterday I watched the video of the smashing of the windows in the door to the House chamber and the shot fired that killed the woman trying to break in. The anger, the violence, the maniacal determination, the rage ... was frightening. If they had managed to capture Pelosi or Schumer or even Pence they would have killed them. Seeing it directly stunned me and disturbs me still. This morning I woke up at 4:30 am and couldn't get back to sleep.
The crowd at the Save America rally was quite large. How far did some of them travel to be there? Where did they stay the night before? Where did they have dinner that night? How are they feeling about the news these days? I think of them as cult members who have been brainwashed - over the last 4+ years. How will they be UNbrainwashed? It seems like an exorcism is needed. It won't be easy or quick.
You all have your own sources of information. Here are some links to a few things I have learned from lately:
Heather Cox Richardson - link - a superb source of common sense and historical context
Michael Moore - link - warnings about January 17th
The Lincoln Project - link - former Republicans who have been working tirelessly to challenge Trump
Rachel Maddow - link - her first show after the riot on January 6
If you can stomach hearing the 'other side' (know thy enemy and all ...):
Rudy Giuliani - link - his view of 'what really happened' on Jan 6
Steve Bannon - link - their view on Twitter banning Trump
Listening to the twisted rhetoric of these people I do wonder about the wisdom of Free Speech in the internet era...
Let's visualize Resignation or Removal or Impeach and Convict.
Healing the stark divisions.
Biden/Harris have a gigantic job to do.
I continue to try and stay well. Wear the mask.
Stay in touch with friends. Ride the bike on The Loop.
Eat yummy good food. Sleep. Read fiction.
Discuss all this with Tanya and then watch comedies.
Be well,
Stay safe,
Jon