As I was watching the coverage of the assault on the Capitol last week, there was a moment I burst into tears.

The tears were from my profound anger at an image I saw: a terrorist walking through the halls of the building carrying the Confederate battle flag.

I have not been so moved since 9/11.

That flag doesn’t stand for anything other than treason and racism, but it was deemed acceptable by these people. Having it in the Capitol building was an affirmation for everything evil it represents.

The images of people looting the building, vandalizing it and attempting to prevent Congress from lawfully confirming an incoming president was the conclusion of this election year and of the four years in which Donald Trump has been president.

We have seen a rejection of governing, a rejection of truth, a rejection of simple human decency and a rejection of law in that past four years.

We have seen a president of the United States, unable to process that he lost an election, encouraging a mob to try to physically stop the legal process as outlined by the Constitution.

There was a death, dozens of arrests and for what? What was accomplished? Biden is still the president-elect.

This was simply political theater. A protest is supposed to have a point. What was the point of this action?

Every lawsuit brought by the president and his allies to attempt to overturn election results was dismissed. The Supreme Court with Trump appointees also rejected the legal arguments presented to them. States in question have done recounts.  

What we saw playing out was exactly what we’ve been seeing in our private lives for the past four years. Families have been divided by this political divide. I’ve got a brother-in-law who stopped talking to me because I voted for Hillary Clinton four years ago and there are other family members with whom I try not to speak about politics for fear of more fracturing of the family.

Perhaps you are going through the same thing.

I try not to post too many political comments on my Facebook page, partly because of this job and partly because I really have a hope that if you attempt not to stir the pot – as my mom would say – maybe others will follow. Perhaps common ground can be established.

One of my high school friends, whom I’ve known since I was 13 years-old, and I had a tussle on my page about the events in Washington DC and I realized there was absolutely no potential for a conversation.             None.

When she asked me where was my sense of humor about the exchange, I replied there is no humor in this situation. How can there be?

What happened was an affront to everyone who swore an oath to uphold the Constitution. Every member of the armed forces who made sacrifices in the service of this nation was insulted by these actions, as were first responders, elected officials and many others.

This was an attempt to establish a new order in the United States not based on law, but instead on a cult of personality.

We have so many challenges in this country that one would think would unite us. We must deal with the pandemic and the economic upheaval it has caused. We must address the continuing racial and social inequity. We need to continue efforts to reverse climate change. We should repair our crumbling infrastructure. We must unite against enemies overseas that are waging a cyber battle against us.  

There is so much real work we can undertake – work that will improve the lives of Americans. We should be focusing on coming together to solve these problems.

Instead too many of us like to make judgements based on unreliable news outlets and what we see on social media. Too many of us – white Americans –  want to cast ourselves as victims and seek “justice” from those we believe have done us wrong.

That won’t move the country forward.

What will help us are frank and constructive discussions about our future. I’m hoping to see these in the next few months.