Until Jan. 6, that union held firmly.
Dashed were the familiar hallmarks of a healthy society: peaceful assembly and protest, leaders who place the good of “one nation” over comforting the already-comfortable.
We watched as our temple to liberty was trampled, defiled on live television. Many of us had not understood the level of anger and hatred some of our fellow citizens have felt toward one another and our fundamental tenants of a free and democratic nation. Now, we know.
We believed the enemies of America were found only outside our borders — those nations that seek our collapse, those who disbelieve or tire of American exceptionalism, and who view our democracy as a failed experiment. Abraham Lincoln said, “If destruction be our lot, we ourselves must be its author and finisher.”
We failed to realize that the greatest danger was right here, inside our walls.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose commitment to peace we celebrate Monday, said, “Hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already void of stars.” He warned us that hatred of those who hate us robs us of our ability to love. He died trying to end segregation, militarism and poverty while advancing civil rights through nonviolent actions, including civil disobedience.
King challenged the great injustices of the day by peaceful means — through respectful dialogue and resistance — but never violence.
The violent insurrection on, around and inside our U.S. Capitol was an act of domestic terrorism, not a patriotic act or foreign invasion. Threats to hang the vice president, to “find” the senators and congressmen hiding that day, to murder policemen and reverse a fair election have made us look to the world more like a banana republic than a healthy democracy.
Those who seek peace in a violent world know our better angels have little choice but to follow Dr. King’s words as we continue the fight for decency, equity and tolerance. He said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.” Each of us must begin — or renew — a commitment to nonviolence while holding responsible these whose lies planted or fed this growing malignancy.
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Lincoln believed, despite four years of civil war, that Americans must unite as one people for democracy to succeed. Now, as then, we cannot allow fear and violence to divide us. We elect leaders to protect us and safeguard our Constitution and to keep secure our citizens, our nation, “One Nation, One Destiny.” Let that destiny be peace and grant us the courage — of a Lincoln or a King — to stand with our fellow citizens to defend it now.
Kevin Kelly is the director of the Dayton Peace Museum. Guest columns are submitted or requested fact-based opinion pieces typically of 300 to 450 words.
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