It was painful to see what we saw. As I watched the violent protests that occurred at our national Capitol on January 6th, 2021, I was ashamed. I was ashamed of how people have been whipped into such outrage that they could even imagine that it was somehow acceptable to storm our nation’s seat of government, defile its legislative chambers and threaten the safety of elected members and staff. This cannot be justified. It cannot be rationalized. It must be condemned. Period.
I was a state legislator for 16 years in Virginia. I have seen many protests at the Capitol in Richmond on a wide rage of topics by huge crowds passionately but peacefully advocating for issues both on the left and the right. I never saw the sort of behavior we witnessed on the 6th of January. It was simply painful. It was wrong. It was anarchy, not patriotism. It was an assault on our republic.
There are people who are very unhappy with the results of the recent elections in America. I am among them. There are legitimate reasons to be concerned with how voting integrity laws have been systematically weakened by states who skirted the constitutional process requiring changes to be consummated in legislatures, not by unelected bureaucrats and courts. Neither of those entities are permitted to do so under the clear language of our Constitution. But those disputes over the law must be handled in the courts of law by people committed to the rule of law.
Joe Biden is now the President-Elect and has been certified as such—lawfully—by our Congress. He is my President even as he was not my choice. Donald Trump will soon be the former President. The violence of the 6th of January has tarnished his legacy as President more than any single event in his term of office. It is time for him to leave graciously.
For those who feel that the election was unfair, as I profoundly do, there is only one choice: peaceful engagement in the election process to advance leaders who share your point of view, not defiling our system of government. I have not withheld my loathing for those in ANTIFA and other groups who committed violence across America in 2020. They too were unjustified in resorting to violence. I can say no less of what we saw at the U.S. Capitol.
It is time for President Trump to leave office with dignity, the kind that Vice President Mike Pence demonstrated as he calmly and professionally executed his Constitutional duty to preside over the counting of electoral votes that certified Joe Biden as our President.
It is time for us to unify around that result, even if we passionately believe, as I firmly do, that the election was beset with irregularities and unlawfully instituted procedures. Those problems must be resolved within the legislative and judicial process. If President Trump desires to leave with dignity, and I pray he does, he will attend the inauguration and graciously place his imprimatur on the transition of power just as every other President in history has done before him. That would be real leadership.
In 1973, I solemnly took this oath as a newly minted Second Lieutenant.
“I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
That oath does not and will not expire for any of us who has taken it seriously in the service of our nation. It is time that all of us embrace the spirit of this oath and without “reservation or purpose of evasion.”
Categories: CBW
0 Comments