Today, I screamed at my television, I cried tears large enough to fill the ocean, I shook so forcefully that my stomach turned over, my hands trembled, my knees pulsated as if an electric shock had just been administered to them, and my brain couldn’t believe whether I was in America or some third-world country. This is January 6, 2021, the day the electoral college would be approved by the Congress in favor of the election of Joseph Biden for the next president of the United States. Instead, my eyes beheld total anarchy, an insurrection, on the steps of Congress by a mob of vicious and unpatriotic American citizens. Never before in our history has there been such a violent transition of power from one president to another. All of a sudden, the America I have loved and been born proud in disappeared in the criminal words of a selfish, disgruntled, and egotist president. In that moment, we became what so many of our ancestors fought against, an unruly, uncaring, unloving, Fascist country. To quote Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “This day will live in infamy,” and not because we have been attacked by an adversary, but because a small group of American people chose to trample on our American nation, led by a tyrant.
Into this chaos, and yes, the death of four people, came the Christian voices of two of America’s greatest voices of love: the Right Rev. Bishop Mariann Edgar-Budde, bishop of the Washington D.C. Episcopal diocese, and Dean Randy Hollerith of the Washington National Cathedral. They helped me calm down and to once again believe, in faith, that through God, all things are possible, all things will be given to those who love Him. By his actions and words, the president has attempted to overthrow our government and to undermine the voices of those who voted to have a new and caring administration in 2021. In faith, I leave Trump’s judgment to God; in respect, I love America with all of my heart. I believe that God has blessed our country, but it takes all of us to be truly worthy of that blessing.
What happened today was not a Christian endeavor; it was anarchy, insurrection. The outcome of a strongly fought and often vicious election campaign should be respected by all parties, all people, regardless of their political viewpoints. One person-one vote should be upheld by all. We need to care for each other, accept the outcomes of the election, and realize that the Constitution is a social contract with every American. It is a dishonor to every American not to abide by the will of the people and the laws of our land. Violence does not aid in people’s crusade to make changes; it erodes the very fingerprint of God found in each and every one of us, His children.
We need to pray for everyone’s health and for peace in our own homes and in our country. We need to praise the Washington, D.C. police, the government police around the Congressional buildings, and the National guard for not using deadly force to keep the houses safe throughout the chaos. We should not excuse nor sanction any of the violence today. We need to ask for forgiveness for all of us, for we have all thrown stones at each other when we didn’t listen to the pain of the American people. We need to pray for the courage and determination to repair the breaches in our country, to grow souls worthy of God’s love, and to acknowledge every thing we are given is from God, not man. This deeply divided nation will survive only through a deeply felt love and by returning to our Constitution based on religious principles. A true life, a true American citizen, a true American nation are the results of everyone putting forth their highest capabilities and talents. We need to share the truths to create a better country, and the truth will set us free. With God at the helm of our nation, we will survive and so will the soul of our democracy.
Anna Hartt
