Last Wednesday, the United States witnessed a domestic event typically thought of occurring in developing countries and autocratic societies: an insurrection. Invigorated by a speech given by President Trump, a mob of Trump supporters marched to the Capitol and attempted to stop Congress from counting the electoral ballots to officially certify Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 Presidential election.
The complete aftermath of the events at the Capitol is still yet to be seen, and calls for Trump to be removed from the Presidency by any means are growing and articles of impeachment have been drafted by the House of Representatives. What transpired on the 6th was sedition, an insurrection, and a self-coup. This was an attempt, whether direct or not, by the President to subvert the powers of the national legislature, overrule the Constitution, and stop the Presidential transition to Joe Biden.
Donald Trump has denied the validity of the 2020 election results and stoked doubts in our system of democracy ever since before the election took place. He has never once accepted the outcome of the election, and only “conceded” once there was an imminent threat of being removed from office. In the United States, this is not normal. The hallmark of American democracy has always been the peaceful transfer of power after an election. No matter how ugly the campaign fight had been, political slander, or fundamental differences in beliefs, there has always been a peaceful transfer of power on January 20th (since 1937, when it was moved from March) to the next President of the United States. As the oldest living democracy, this peaceful transition has been attempted to be emulated around the world, but many developing democracies have failed. The acceptance or rejection of elections is what makes or breaks the system, and Donald Trump has threatened that transition.
While I hope by the time you are reading this Donald Trump has been removed from office via Impeachment or the 25th amendment, whatever the outcome of these events are, we must remember that this is a turning point in our democracy. We must not allow insurrectionists to rebel against our principles and or we will watch our democracy crumble. We must come together and to put America back on the right track for freedom. This presidential transition has been one of the most tumultuous in history, and I sure hope it comes to an end soon.