“It was a dagger at the throat of America.”
President Joe Biden
Democracy is a resilient but fragile concept. It exists because we uphold the United States Constitution. It establishes our Rule of Law; its physical reality upholds our belief in the peaceful transfer of power. Our democracy rises above political wrangling, above ethnicity, above any debates over conservative or liberal debates over taxes or size of government. We the people renew our belief in the Constitution every time we vote. We the people decide who represents us.
President Joe Biden. Photo courtesy of the Wall Street Journal.
“We are a great nation. In life there is truth, and there are lies… let’s be clear about what is true and what is a lie. Here is the truth. The former president of the U. S. has created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election,” said President Joe Biden this morning in a speech from Statuary Hall in the Capitol as the nation considered the significance of Jan. 6. “He values power over principal…his bruised ego matters more to him than principal.”
When a mob instigated by the former president stormed our country’s Capitol in an attempt to stop the process of certifying the electoral college votes cast in an election that has been called the most secure in American history, it was the final move of a desperate set of lies that began long before that frosty Washington D.C. morning.
Donald J. Trump, the former leader of what we used to call ‘the free world’, attempted to destroy our democracy; his actions reveal that it is he who doesn’t believe in America. His attempts to remain in power — and now to rewrite history — will go down in history as an attempt by a weak and greedy man … a man accurately described as “a defeated president.”
The speech this morning by President Joe Biden on the anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection that desecrated the citadel of our democracy, is already being called the best speech of his presidency. “It was a speech he had to give. It wasn’t a partisan speech — he never mentioned Trump’s name. He didn’t appeal for legislation,” said NBC’s Chuck Todd.
In it, Biden dismantled what he called “the three big lies”, reminding Americans that the 2020 election was legitimate, there was no voter fraud, and that Trump lost in popular votes and in the electoral college. “He lost … that’s what 93 Senators, his own attorney general, and his own vice president said. That’s what 81 million of you did as you voted your own way forward.”
“One thousand acts of courage saved our lives by moments, not by minutes,” said New Hampshire Congresswoman Annie Kuster about the attack on Congress and her narrow escape from the mob. “We returned to the chamber that night and at 3:30 a.m. we certified the election…. let us carry out 1,000 acts of courage in our hearts to protect our democracy going forward.”
Many with long experience in reporting on and actively serving in our government at every level have pointed out that democracy is not, as commonly believed, a noun. It is not a static word. Democracy is a verb –it must be practiced to be protected. It is meant to be exercised. It is based on truth and it is lived by doing what is right.
View the full speech by President Joe Biden, and his introduction by Vice President Harris here:
With no participation by GOP we are still in the same boat with the very spoiled and corrupted GOP coward simply protecting their seats and hiding from the big lying bully. I am just thankful that they did not do it again today during this very vulnerable time. Their absence made me very nervous about the safety and intelligence of our entire Democratic congress in one spot holding candles outside on the location of the insurrection attempt on the very day the insurrectionist claim was the best day of their lives. I am afraid that it is too late and nothing will bring back our democracy but the prosecution of Trump and his partners in crime for their crimes against our country and our democracy. The longer they delay the worse things will become. It is a shame that a minority of very unintelligent and ignorant, violent, bigoted anti-American extremists have the power to eliminate our democracy while the largest threat to democracy and our country is allowed to grow his campaign and continue inciting unlawful activities with support of a large portion of our law enforcement community while half of our congress supports the criminal against the good of their constituents and for their personal financial gain. I see no way out of this. Without support of our law enforcement community our democracy will continue to crumble and discrimination will grow. Those we used to count on to be the role models for our children are now supporting unlawfulness and anarchy by those on their ‘side’. I grew up outside of DC in the 60’s and 70’s during riots and much violence, racism and hatred on display around us and an extremely corrupt county police force notorious for their head bashing and for arresting convenient hippies for anything they could get away with. Cops who make decisions based on discrimination of any kind are dangerous and it appears to me that we are returning to that state in our country. After today’s media coverage I hope some of them rethink their attitude. After all, they are the first line who will have to protect others from the violence they are not condemning and the thugs they are supporting and taking selfies with at our local shooting range.