Was the riot on January 6th a surprise to anyone? It certainly wasn’t to me. Trump has been declaring the election a fraud since before the election took place! Millions of people have believed him, and they are justifiably angry. It’s clear to them the election would not be fair because many people they respect have claimed the use of mail-in ballots would be an easy way to deliberately falsify votes. They said these things despite evidence to the contrary. Mail-in ballots have been used for years without significant irregularities.
We are in the midst of the worst pandemic in 100 years. Our elected officials should have been encouraging the use of mail-in ballots to keep Americans safe. All around the country there has been a notable rise in Covid cases after the beginning of November – which could have been due to in person voting (though I’m not able to prove that claim unequivocally).
What does art have to do with politics? Isn’t artistic expression one of the avenues for stating controversial sentiments? Although I recognize Twitter’s banning of Trump as a means to quell violence, it is a sad day for the American support of freedom of speech. I may loathe Trump as a President but I am concerned the ban on his use of Twitter may create an even angrier following for him. His supporters will find another means to follow him. They already feel marginalized by mainstream society and the ban may serve to make them more violent in support of their ‘hero’.
The unfortunate truth is many in our country have been disrespected and the riot did not increase their respectability. They are a desperate group. I do not respect their White Supremacist point of view – I’m a proud Jew – yet I also believe they have a right to hold their own opinions. The limits of expression end when violence begins. You have a right to hold hateful points of view. You do not have the right to take action on them.
With all of that said, I believe President Trump should be censored or impeached. If there is a legal way to prevent him from running for any federal office again, it should be used. He has grievously harmed our country through his lies and his inaction on the pandemic. His worst nightmare will be to fade away from public consciousness and that is exactly what he deserves. Let’s dump Trump and stop the chaos.
