I’m up late on a Thursday night. Too late for my schedule. I got bogged down in watching the January 6 Committee hearings. The focus on this night… what happened in that 187 minute window from President Trump’s speech to the tweet that told them to stand down?
Two former White House aides talked of their disgust that day. Both Matthew Pottinger and Sara Matthews resigned immediately after the riot.
Pottinger said, “I simply didn’t want to be associated with the events that were unfolding at the Capitol. Matthews said, “He should have been telling these people to go home and leave.”
Former White House counsel Pat Cipollone’s testimony was on videotape. He said he and other staffers pushed the President to issue a strong statement early on in the riot. It took at least two hours for that to happen.
Another striking bit of testimony… how dangerous the situation was on January 6th for Vice President Mike Pence. His security detail feared for their lives and called family members to say goodbye.
It got me thinking… how did January 6 happen here? How did an angry mob storm the U.S. Capital?
Sadly, it’s the time we are living in. I just saw a study that said half of Americans expect a civil war in the next few years.
Researchers from the University of California-Davis Violence Prevention Research Program and the California Violence Research Center conducted it. 50.1% of respondents said they at least agree somewhat that a civil war will happen. 47.8% disagree.
Here’s something. 14% of those surveyed say they “strongly” or “very strongly” agree that a civil war is imminent. That’s a lot and it’s concerning.
Here’s something else from the survey. It has to do with the future of democracy. Two-thirds of the respondents say there is a “serious threat” to the country’s democracy.
And this… THIS… 40% say having a strong leader is more important than having a democracy. Really? That sounds like fascism. And it’s really frightening.
So, maybe that’s how January 6 happened here. A belief in civil war and a belief that a “strong leader” is more important than democracy. Strange times we are living in. Scary ones too.