I rarely talk about politics here. My politics are hardly secret, but this is not a forum where I usually give them voice.
But this goes beyond politics. This goes to the heart of our nation.
Many conservatives seem to hold that we liberals hate our country. Quite the opposite. We really love it so much we want to recognize its faults and correct them. One of my favorite quotes is attributed to Thomas Jefferson: "The purpose of democracy is not to make the nation perfect. It's to make the nation better." I'm unable to find a specific citation, and am working from memory, but the principle is the vital thing. Democracy is a fascinating experiment, a work in progress, which will probably never be completed. And despite everything, we were making progress in fits and starts, until a year ago today.
As we are on the anniversary of the January 6 attempt to overthrow our government, this is very much in my heart and in my thoughts. I am usually a champion of restorative justice over punitive justice. Not in this case. I believe everyone who acted in this shameful attempted revolution should be tried and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. We must also safeguard voting rights. I am forced to agree with Bill Maher that this remains a slow moving coup, which will only be stopped with our vigilance.
I took to Photoshop for a quick work to try to express my passion on this crucial matter. A few simple steps and here we are.
So many of the "patriots" who joined in this disgrace have been claiming innocence, saying they were deluded, brainwashed, or generally disavowing their craven acts. I say some things can't be forgiven. Not many, but some.
This is one.
We won't heal as a nation unless the body politic is strong enough. That won't happen unless we deal with this. As the American writer Poe contended, "A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser." So must we do for the strength of our nation.
All for now on this.
Next- back to our story.
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