The pitiful sight of sacred grounds and principles being defiled will not soon be forgotten and should not be.
It should be taken as a warning of what could come if this nation’s ship is not righted.
The upsetting and awful ordeal did not reflect the America we all cherish. It was not the America real patriots lost life and limb to protect.
Yet, it was America.
It is no consolation that those who invaded the U.S. Capitol are citizens of this great land.
No grace is given because many of them waved American flags or shot off fireworks on the Fourth of July.
No leniency is extended because some of them felt wronged by the election results or the political climate in general.
Their version of liberty is counterfeit.
Each and every truth we hold to be self-evident took a punch in the gut when hundreds of anarchists stormed Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Wednesday.
Yes, anarchists.
This is a nation that welcomes peaceful protest. Washington knows them well.
Make no mistake, this was not a protest, peaceful or otherwise.
And these people - radical supporters of President Donald Trump who broke windows and sprayed chemical irritants - were not patriots.
This was terror. This was un-American. This was an attack.
Democracy has been attacked before. She can take a hit, but she, like justice, is fragile.
If we are not all careful, she, like civility and our unity, will no longer bend.
She will crumble.
We are pleased that our elected officials in Ohio and Washington have condemned this unbridled assault that caused senators and members of Congress to scramble and halt legal proceedings, but that should just be the beginning.
They must drop the tribalism and partisan politics and work to preserve our nation and protect our democracy.
We must all follow suit.
We should be revolted no matter who we supported in the November election.
We should be embarrassed to our core that this is the face we are showing the world.
We should be outraged whether we believe Joe Biden’s election should have been certified or not.
Enough.
We can debate a good many things in this nation and should.
This is not one of those things.
This is a nation of law and order.
Mobs do not rule.
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