#sparkchamber 070422 — Democracy on the Line
From time to time, #sparkchamber uses this platform to make a statement or to take a stand. Today, Independence Day in the United States, is such a day. This holiday celebrates the passage of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, a document that announced the political separation of the original thirteen North American colonies from the tyrannical rule of King George III of Great Britain. Its foundational text held that all are created equal, are endowed with certain unalienable rights [among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness] and that to secure these rights, governments are empowered to act through the consent of the governed.
It was — and still is — a truly revolutionary philosophy: the people decide who will represent them. Not — as in a monarchy, autocracy, dictatorship, oligarchy, or other despotic or authoritarian form of government — a ruler imposing his will on his subjects. Majority rules. Everyone is held accountable to the same laws. And when all the votes are counted, the loser acknowledges his ideas are not supported by the majority, and he concedes in a peaceful transfer of power.
This was the way of this nation … until the 2020 presidential election.
A high-level, well-orchestrated, multi-faceted conspiracy to overturn the will of the people in that election created the circumstances under which protesters, rioters, and insurrectionists — inflamed by lies, out for blood — stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. A select committee to investigate that attack was formed, began its work last June, and has been holding public hearings the past few weeks. The focus of the committee’s efforts is to understand what happened in the days leading up to the January 6th attack, and to draft legislation to prevent something similar from happening again in the future.
In his closing remarks to the hearing held on June 21, 2021, Representative Adam Schiff [D-CA] summed up the day’s testimony, revealing how close this country came — how close this country is — to the end of its revolutionary endeavor.
Here is a transcript of his remarks:
For more than two hundred years, our democracy has been distinguished by the peaceful transfer of power. When an American raises their right hand and takes the presidential oath of office, they are transformed from an ordinary citizen to the most powerful person in the world — the president. This is an awesome power to acquire. It is even more awesome when it is handed on peacefully.
When George Washington relinquished the office of the presidency, it set a precedent that served as a beacon for other nations struggling against tyranny.
When Ronald Reagan described it as a kind of miracle in the eyes of the world, he was exactly right. Other countries use violence to seize and hold power. But not in the United States. Not in America.
When Donald Trump used the power of the presidency to try to stay in office after losing the election to Joe Biden, he broke that sacred and centuries-old covenant. Whether his actions were criminal will ultimately be for others to decide. But what he did was without a doubt unconstitutional. It was unpatriotic. And it was fundamentally un-American.
And when he used the power of his presidency to put enormous pressure on state and local elections officials, and his own vice president, it became downright dangerous. On January 6th, that pressure became deadly.
Ruby Freeman said the president is supposed to protect every American, not target them. And she is right. If the most powerful person in the world can bring the full weight of the presidency down on an ordinary citizen who is merely doing her job, with a lie as big and heavy as a mountain, who among us is safe? None of us is. None of us.
In city councils and town councils, on school boards and election boards, from the congress to the courts, dedicated public servants are leaving their posts because of death threats — to them and to their families. This is not who we are. It must not become who we are.
Our democracy held because courageous people like those you heard from today put their oath to the constitution above their loyalty to one man or to one party. The system held, but barely. And the question remains, will it hold again?
If we are able to communicate anything during these hearings, I hope it is this: We have been blessed beyond measure to live in the world’s greatest democracy. That is a legacy to be proud of and to cherish. But it is not one to be taken for granted. That we have lived in a democracy for more than two hundred years does not mean we shall do so tomorrow.
We must reject violence. We must embrace our constitution with the reverence it deserves. Take our oath of office and duties as citizens seriously. Informed by the knowledge of right and wrong, and armed with no more than the power of our ideas and the truth to carry on this venerable experiment in self-governance.
1.] Where do ideas come from?
As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. — Abraham Lincoln
2.] What is the itch you are scratching?
If we are to keep our democracy, there must be one commandment: Thou shalt not ration justice. — Sophocles
3.] Early bird or night owl? Tortoise or hare?
It’s a relief to hear the rain. It’s the sound of billions of drops, all equal, all equally committed to falling, like a sudden outbreak of democracy. Water, when it hits the ground, instantly becomes a puddle or rivulet or flood. — Alice Oswald, poet
Democracy must be built through open societies that share information. When there is information, there is enlightenment. When there is debate, there are solutions. When there is no sharing of power, no rule of law, no accountability, there is abuse, corruption, subjugation and indignation. — Atifete Jahjaga, former president of Kosovo
If you want to rip the heart out of a democracy, you go after the facts. That's what modern authoritarians do. You lie. All the time. Then, you say it's your opponents and the journalists who lie. — Maria Ressa, Nobel-Peace-Prize-winning journalist
4.] How do you know when you are done?
Democracy is not a spectator sport, it's a participatory event. If we don't participate in it, it ceases to be a democracy. — Michael Moore
There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge. — Isaac Asimov
The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all. — John F. Kennedy
The Constitution is worth saving, the rule of law is worth saving, democracy is worth saving, but these things can and will be lost if everyone waits around for someone else. — Timothy D. Snyder