DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR DEMOCRACY IS?

Simon here. The following represents my opinions alone, though the HITS overlords have permitted me to post them here at least until an interesting story about streaming trends at Spotify Indonesia comes along.

One year ago, we shudder to remember, a mob of extremists marched to the building housing the U.S. Congress, forced their way in—killing several cops and at least one of their own in the process—and demanded the results of the election be overturned and Donald Trump be proclaimed supreme leader. They wore shirts bearing exterminist Nazi slogans like CAMP AUSCHWITZ and 6MWE (Six Million Wasn’t Enough). They carried Confederate flags. They smeared their feces on the walls and took trophies. And they were apparently prepared to murder the entire House of Representatives and anyone else—up to and including the Vice President of the United States, for whose possible execution they built a makeshift gallows—in order to achieve their aim.

These are facts, not opinions.

That these traitors failed, in the short term, is not as reassuring as it should be. Because for a year, right-wing media outlets and the failed coup’s other enablers (including several in the House itself) have lied, distorted, downplayed, bullshitted and otherwise gummed up the wheels of justice. They have described these racist thugs as patriots and political prisoners.

President Biden’s remarks on this anniversary indicated that there is still some faith—and sand—remaining in representative government. “I will allow no one,” he said with due gravity, “to place a dagger at the throat of democracy.”

There’s a lot more trouble on the horizon, and plenty of daggers remain to be unsheathed. It is extremely possible that our government will change hands and the aforementioned thugs will once again serve as the shock troops for an authoritarian wave.

On this anniversary, I would ask you to view the elections of 2022 and 2024 in existential terms. I would further ask that everyone roll up their sleeves and make the preservation of democracy a priority. Yes, that means voting. But it also means organizing, mobilizing, making calls, writing postcards, using your social-media megaphone and otherwise speaking up. This democracy isn't going to defend itself.