Our country is in a dangerous place and none of us quite know what to do. Today mostly right-wing protestors stormed the U.S. Capital and actually held it through most the evening. Many people say this is a violent riot, and are freaking out the same way they did over the Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. However, just like at Malheur, the only tragedy to take place was when the police shot and killed one of the protestors. The right-wing, regardless of how just their actions, tend to still uphold greater values than that of left-wing riots. Despite having full control of the Capital, the building wasn’t burned, and the concession stand set-up out-front wasn’t robbed. This is because right-wingers are actually taking out their anger on the system they feel cheated them, not simply demonstrating their anger upon helpless storefronts. But just like every act of rebellion, it usually takes place because people feel as if they have no other choice. When people don’t feel heard they lose their minds, and act out in different ways. Whether it’s the BLM riots or the MAGA crowd storming the Capital, they all feel as if there is no peaceful means to receive justice. Congress wont listen, the Parties wont represent, and soon these protestors will learn even Donald Trump isn’t everything they were hoping for. He won’t lead a revolution, that isn’t what he signed up for.
There are three reasons why violence broke out at the Capital. The first is the most obvious. Politicians aren’t representing a large portion of the population, leaving them feeling disenfranchised. If you believe in the Constitution, but no one in Washington DC obeys it, there must be an element of resistance to uphold it. This is where the second reason we’re in this place comes in. Millions of people believed America came under a direct attack in 2020. Whether you agree or disagree, those people who felt oppressed needed a voice. So they looked to more influential people in their movement. However, the political commentators with enough influence to create any call to action, didn’t. They continued to tell their listeners to stand by and prepare, and to this day all they do is complain about the actions of the Republican Party, without calling their followers to any sort of action. As they reported on the coup against the Trump Administration, they gave their listeners nothing to do but sit and wait. They didn’t organize protests or events. Donald Trump seemed to be the only Republican willing to hosts such things. The element of resistance conservatives needed, well organized protests, just weren’t being organized by the ones giving them a voice. So, people still felt alone. Either needing to create action for themselves, or wait until all their liberties had been ripped out from under them. In some cases, I blame both the GOP for their lack of action, but also the conservative activists, for critiquing the GOP around every corner, but not offering any other solutions. Not willing to be part of the imagine of resistance.
Lastly, the main reason for all of this, is the government’s encroachment on our rights. This is not just about Trump 2020. This is a silenced people screaming out for help. After being forced to stay inside for a year, and having their voices silenced by corporate entities that promised to connect them with friends and family, only to suspended them without warning or reason. Watching their grandparents die alone, and friends succumb to depression and suicide, as politicians fly around in private jets and dance in Times Square. These people, who’s right to pursue happiness was smothered by elitists and corporate censorship, have nothing to lose. These acts of rebellion give them purpose again, something to die for; rather than dying alone indoors like the millions we already lost last year. Nothing Trump could say would have gotten those protestors to leave Capital Hill. Because this is more than about the election, it’s a demonstration of the lives destroyed under the lockdowns. Without the freedom to pursue happiness, there will be unrest. We who still have our heads need to ensure everyone’s voice is heard, before the only voices left are the ones rioting. If there must be a revolution, the revolution needs planning. You cannot destroy a corrupt government without having a replacement, otherwise someone’s going to grab that power and crown themselves king.
As I try to get my blog back into an updated and manageable order, I intend to bring more purpose to my criticisms. That every post I make give the reader a feeling that they can still fight and have something to do. Because if political commentary simply repeats a feeling of hopelessness, then all we’re truly asking for is the complete collapse of all our institutions. After Democrats spent the last 4 years resisting possibly the most socially liberal president in U.S. history, it’s time the believers in the American Revolution organize, so that our resistance has purpose and displays honor, unlike the chaotic mess at the Capital this afternoon. Although I have to admit, seeing that spirit of resistance and those American flags storming the Capital gave me some much needed hope. This country wont fall quietly, I think what happened today proved it.