The United States Capitol – Part 2

“A republic, if you can keep it”
Benjamin Franklin, 1787

“Good luck with that”
Ted Ringger, 2021

THIS WASN’T EAST BERZERKISTAN BEING OVERRUN BY TALIBAN CRAZIES. THIS WAS THE EXCEPTIONAL CITIZENRY OF THE EXCEPTIONAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA STORMING AND RANSACKING THEIR CAPITOL…SEEKING TO OVERTURN A FAIR ELECTION…LOOKING FOR DEMOCRATS TO ARREST…LOOKING FOR A VICE PRESIDENT TO HANG.

The president came into office referring to American carnage and by the time he left, brought it about. The media is bursting with opinion pieces on this outrage. I’m just another concerned citizen with a tiny platform and no influence whatsoever. But I do have images of the magnificent seat of government that our president encouraged his followers to attack.

United States Capitol, Washington, D.C. (April 1997) 

This was shameful, barbaric and disgusting, but we will hear (as we always do) the usual false equivalency examples of mayhem and destruction from the left. Some wing nuts now want us to believe that the destruction was caused by Antifa infiltrators because good Trump cultists would never do such a thing. Please.

Trump has to OWN this. His Republican enablers have to OWN this. Fox News has to OWN this. No more “We deplore what happened but the people are angry.” Who stoked their anger with lies and conspiracy nonsense? Who likes to promote partisan division with quotes from ‘patriot’ viewers who would ‘rather be Americans than Democrats’?

‘The Crypt,’ United States Capitol, 

Washington, D.C. (14 November 2008) 

The absolute center of the capitol…and the basis for the city’s addresses is called the ‘Crypt.’ The Compass Star in the floor marks the point where the District is divided into four quadrants. Architects intended the spot to forever hold the remains of the ‘Father of Our Country,’ but George Washington wanted to be buried at his Mt. Vernon estate. One of the more memorable videos from the insurrection showed the mob surging through this space.

United States Capitol, Washington, D.C. (8 November 2014) 

In 2014, a major restoration project was conducted on the dome. 

Many don’t know the dome is primarily 

cast iron…nearly 4500 tons of it. 

Over the years it had cracked, leaked and rusted. 

‘Land of the Free’ (if you’re White) - Remember that just a few months ago, a mostly-peaceful Black Lives Matter protest march resulted in hundreds of arrests of people just walking the streets. If that mob stormed the capitol for a ‘Black Lives Matter’ protest, they would have been gassed, beaten and shot on the outside steps.

‘Home of the Hypocrites’ - There MUST be accountability and consequences for the law-breakers. ALL of them. The GOP is the ‘Law and Order’ party after all. Right. Only when it suits them. We all know that Blacks who protest government agents killing other Blacks are considered thugs and savages. White people who desecrate the capitol, kill cops and trash the place based on mythical delusions are still patriots.

Wake up. Smell the coffee and let this ridiculous double standard sink in.

Rotunda Detail, United States Capitol, 

Washington, D.C. (14 November 2008) 

Where the Black People At? - Confederate flags. Shirts printed with “Camp Auschwitz” and "6MWE" ("6 million wasn't enough"). This IS who we are. It CAN happen here. It DOES happen here. We just prefer to whitewash our history and present only the parts we like. We created the nation on conquered/stolen land. It was ‘Manifest Destiny’ after all. We developed it with slave labor. A hundred and fifty years after slavery ended, Blacks still get the shaft. It’s time to stop saying “This is not who we are.” This is exactly who we are.

United States Capitol, Washington, D.C. (16 April 2009) 

You Gonna Believe Me or Your Lying Eyes? - One of the many ironies in this rabbit hole we all fell through is that these deluded citizens fervently believe that the Democrats were stealing the election…without any evidence beyond what their cult leader told them. In reality, they were pawns in Trump’s coup. All the states certified their votes. Trump was the one trying to steal the election.

Lindsey Graham, John McCain’s wing man back when some Republicans had integrity, before he became one of Agent Orange’s Chief Ass-Kissers, finally swung back to sanity when he said on the Senate floor, “They said 66,000 people under age 18 in Pennsylvania voted. I said ‘Show me ten’ and they could not show me ONE. They said 8,000 felons in Arizona voted. I said show me ten. They couldn’t show me ONE. It’s over. Biden won.”

Even the Faux/Fox/Fake News channel has denounced (sort of) the violence, but they are always quick to add, “But the people are angry about the election,” like the insurrection was justified. The criminals are angry because they believe the lies FOX has been feeding them.

Emancipation Hall, U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, 

Washington, D.C. (14 November 2008) 

The large statue is a plaster copy of the Statue of Freedom, 

the bronze figure that has topped the capitol dome since 1863. 

Incompetent or Evil? - Another thing the inept Democrats failed to do – DIRECTLY challenge Trump when he lied. He said there was massive voter fraud and he won by a landslide. Someone needed to get in his face from the beginning and say “PROVE IT or shut up.”

When Trump said what Georgia was doing is illegal, Raffensberger should have said, “If you can prove ANY illegal activity, arrest me.” When Trump says, “I hear that…they say that…word is that…people say…”, no one says, “We don’t act on hearsay, you effing dolt. Just like all your failed court challenges, we need EVIDENCE…like this phone call of yours is now evidence to charge YOU with conspiracy to commit voter fraud…you dumb-shit. You can add that to the list of crimes you need to pardon yourself for.”

‘Freedom’ Atop the Dome (April, 1997) 

Remember how we used to value concepts like ‘justice’ and ‘accountability’? Terrorism is a crime. Sedition is a crime. Inciting a riot is a crime. Conspiracy to commit voter fraud is a crime.

What frosts me now is the feeling that those responsible will get away with it. We will get so into the weeds of it all. Should we? Can we? How can we? What would it take? Isn’t it better to just move on? Please…do not just move on. We can finally respond to the pandemic AND prosecute criminals at the same time. If people broke the law, they must be charged, convicted and punished.

I believe that pardoning Nixon was a mistake. Pardoning the Iran-Contra criminals was a mistake. Letting off the hook the Wall Street criminals who destroyed the world economy in 2008 was a mistake. The nation can handle it. If the most corrupt, criminal president in our history is not convicted of something, it will be a mistake. Otherwise, we should never use the phrase "We're a nation of laws" again.

I cannot add anything to the debate beyond a fervent wish that this once-great nation returns to its senses and demonstrates that it knows right from wrong better than right from left.