This week rioters ravaged our democracy and trampled our most sacred right to government “for the people, by the people.”This drove of insurgents breached the walls of our Capital Building, wandered the halls and trashed the Chamber, leaving America bruised and battered; and apparently subject to little or no rule of law. Trump himself instructed this mob to march to the Capital and fight to stop the certification of Joe Biden as the duly elected president of the United States.

It was with great fear and shock that we witnessed the halls of the people’s house with tear gas billowing through the Rotunda; congress members crouched under their desks and armed capital police barricading the Chamber doors. Trump and his republican cronies have muddied our image on the world stage, and has all but brought this nation to its knees.  Never in my lifetime did I ever expect to see this type of rebellion and insurrection take place in our Nation.  

All that being said… what next? The next 10 to 12 twelve days are perhaps the most perilous this country has faced since 911 when the twin towers fell.  Our options are few, and none are simple. It would be wonderful were Mike Pence and the senior cabinet to acknowledge that our nation is in jeopardy and invoke the 25th Amendment. The Congress can impeach him again and eliminate him as a future threat to the union, but that would require the cooperation of a Republican Party and it may be tough to pull this off.  

I agree with the former Secretary of State Colin Powell that the best action would be for President Trump to step down from office, and end this Presidency with a peaceful transfer of power, which can accelerate our healing process. 

 

The American public is desperate for a solution. We are thirsty for reasoned leadership, political dignity, the rule of law and most of all the assurance that a steady hand holds the helm of our nation’s future. We are days away from the moment when we will move from a rudderless nation casting about at sea to one with a common cause directing us toward a shared destiny in keeping with the vision of the Founding Fathers.

There is, however, no assurance that we will arrive at our destination intact; or for that matter, at all. 

In the storied words of Founding Father Patrick Henry, “Now is the time for all good men (and women) to come to the aid of their country.” All Americans must lay aside our petty differences and focus on maintaining our democracy, flawed though it may be. While our nation has often fallen far short of the lofty goals to which we subscribe, we nevertheless are the preeminent democracy established in the world to date. 

Resilience is not only about how we bounce back but how we bounce forward!   

No riot, no protest, no gunshots, can ever stop our Republic from surviving and thriving.  

Since the founding of our nation, we have been resilient!  We will continue to be.