Lest We Forget

one year after January 6th, 2021.

There is no way this can be normal. And yet, for many people my age, this is all we know.

Think about it.

I was born in the year 1999:

Alive during the Bush administration, but not old enough to remember a single thing. Alive during the Obama administration, but barely old enough to understand the magnitude of that election (although I remember my 3rd-grade teacher forcing me to watch the inauguration and write a paper about it).

I was 16 when Trump was elected. In many ways, his presidency is really the only America that I’ve consciously understood.

This America is the only one I know: the peddling of lies, a click-bait “news” media machine, radicalizing social media platforms, politicians who spend more time on Twitter than they do in their communities, a crippling welfare state, unresolved racial tension, and a violent political landscape.

It’s morning somewhere, but not in America.

Today marks one year since a mob of people stormed into one of the most powerful buildings in the country— and one that foreign terrorists plotted to destroy just a few decades ago. They came for a myriad of reasons: to support the big lie that the election that delivered Biden the presidency was false, to harm or threaten lawmakers (both on the left and the right), and because most of them felt like something was being taken away from them (their significance, their status in America, their socioeconomic standing, etc).

As I try to make sense of such a traumatic and frightful day— I am reminded of two things.

First, when this happened last year, I was still in undergrad, fretfully waiting for grad school admissions to roll in, and dutifully finishing up the first round of drafts for my thesis and undergraduate research. One of my BA’s was in International Studies— which means for the past four years, the issues of democratic backsliding and polity were things I studied abroad. I thought I would work for the State Department or an International Human Rights Law firm.

But among other factors, this moment in history made me realize that the greatest way I can serve my country, is to stay at home. There is work to be done here.

The second thing is a story that we keep forgetting: on the same day that an attempted coup took place in D.C, further down South, a small tide changed in America: Georgia delivered two Democratic Senators. I see these events as deeply related. And these are stories we must tell together.

Below is a litany of resources that attempt to explain the past year. Please go through every single one of them. Each of them presents something important. Some of them even offer hope, which to be honest, I don’t have a lot of right now. I am gravely afraid for this year and the critical elections happening across the country. I have a feeling many of us might end up feeling defeated. And I desperately hope that I’m wrong about that.

* Many of these resources (especially the podcasts), might be hard to go through. Please take care of yourself.

“I fear for our Democracy.”

— Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States

In a plea from former President Jimmy Carter, he urges us to consider five key demands to keep our democracy protected and respected:

“First, while citizens can disagree on policies, people of all political stripes must agree on fundamental constitutional principles and norms of fairness, civility and respect for the rule of law. Citizens should be able to participate easily in transparent, safe and secure electoral processes. Claims of election irregularities should be submitted in good faith for adjudication by the courts, with all participants agreeing to accept the findings. And the election process should be conducted peacefully, free of intimidation and violence.”
“Second, we must push for reforms that ensure the security and accessibility of our elections and ensure public confidence in the accuracy of results. Phony claims of illegal voting and pointless multiple audits only detract from democratic ideals.”
“Third, we must resist the polarization that is reshaping our identities around politics.”
“Fourth, violence has no place in our politics, and we must act urgently to pass or strengthen laws to reverse the trends of character assassination, intimidation and the presence of armed militias at events. We must protect our election officials — who are trusted friends and neighbors of many of us — from threats to their safety.”
“Lastly, the spread of disinformation, especially on social media, must be addressed. We must reform these platforms and get in the habit of seeking out accurate information. Corporate America and religious communities should encourage respect for democratic norms, participation in elections and efforts to counter disinformation.”

The Uncomfortable Lessons of January 6th

In this collection of essays and arguments at the New York Times, writers brilliantly layout the underbelly of what we saw, how it will impact our future, and what all is at stake. Some of my favorite writings in this collection include: