Robert B. Hubbell - Many things happened on January 6, but the most important was this: democracy prevailed. It held against a violent mob, a corrupt president, and a Republican Party willing to look away. The insurrection that began on January 6 is not over, nor is our defense of democracy. But as we did on January 6, pro‑democracy forces are holding the line through vigilance, persistence, and the collective refusal to surrender.
January 6 is a dark day in American history, not the least because it is compounded by Trump’s shameful pardon of insurrectionists who assaulted law enforcement officers defending Congress as it completed the transfer of power commanded by the Constitution. Congressional Republicans continue the shameful effort to rewrite the narrative of January 6 by refusing to install a plaque in the Capitol—as required by law—honoring the law enforcement officers who served as the last line of defense on January 6. See CBS News, Congress defies its own law, fails to install plaque honoring Jan. 6 police officers.
We must reclaim January 6 as a celebration of the day democracy held. We can do so by completing our defense of democracy, a defense that includes taking control of Congress and the presidency, reforming the Supreme Court (and undoing its corrupt jurisprudence), and holding to account everyone who facilitated Trump’s lawless reign, including cabinet secretaries, agency heads, military leaders, and corrupt business executives.
We can transform January 6 into a day celebrating democracy through our ongoing resistance to the antidemocratic forces that assault the Constitution to this day. Protest by protest, postcard by postcard, streetcorner by streetcorner, and election by election, we will remake January 6 into a day celebrating the victory of democracy over the forces of darkness.
On the fifth anniversary of January 6, be part of the process to reclaim it as a day of celebration. Raise your voices. Exercise your rights to assemble and to petition the government for redress of grievances. Contact your representatives. Be seen. Be heard. Inspire others to action. Remind others—and ourselves—that we are “the governed” whose consent is necessary for the government to exist.
Reclaim January 6 for ourselves and for democracy by completing the work that began five years ago today.
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