Reflecting on the insurrection

While I’d like to pretend that substantial change and progress has been made in the political polarization and unregulated violence that manifested itself in the attack on the capitol, that can’t honestly be said. In reflecting on the validity of the riot and the tension that fueled it, a concerning amount of Americans still believe that the event was justified and that if elected leaders aren’t “protecting America” in the ways that they deem necessary, then the people can and should take action however they see fit. Even though such a large-scale attack on democracy has not been imitated or successfully imitated in the last year, that doesn’t mean that the beliefs behind the riot have disappeared. I believe that it is important, not just on the anniversary of this day, to talk about the event, its impacts, its causes and not just see it as another piece in the chaotic puzzle that was 2021. It was terrifying and shocking for helpless people across America to watch the riot go down, and those feelings should not be minimized or forgotten. To continue to spark change and fight division, we have to reflect on everything that made the infamous Jan. 6 riot what it was: who was responsible, what we can take away from it and how we move forward. A year has passed and while many would like to leave the insurrection behind us, its impacts still ring into today.