The most important political question in America today is whether there will be long-term political rewards for not speaking up against, or even actively condoning, the January 6th insurrection. It is amazing, and scary, that we have to even ask this question. At the time of the insurrection, virtually everyone was unanimous in condemning the violence and death. What happened? As the leaders of the Oath Keepers prepare their defenses against sedition charges, it is clear that many politicians are actually gaining a political benefit from supporting or condoning their actions.
This is a moment for a national reckoning about just why this kind of misinformation is spreading. Granted, social media makes combating misinformation harder and presents us with new challenges, but new challenges have happened before in history, and we can and must choose to rise to those challenges, understanding that democracy is at stake. Ultimately, there are too many people willing to believe Trump and his lies, too many people who cannot see through the Big Lie, and most importantly, too few who can understand that using violence to achieve political aims is fundamentally wrong and undemocratic. What is driving Trump’s power is not Trump the man, it is his ability to convince over 70% of the Republican party of what ought to immediately be seen as irrational, what may very well go down in history as one of the most important deceptions in human history.
In the final analysis, Trump did not come out of nowhere. He is a symptom of a disease that has plagued America for several generations. His presidency was a culmination of a right-wing movement that wasn’t taken seriously enough–one that still remains inadequately unaddressed today. It isn’t just the growth of groups like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. It is the growth of a population that doesn’t recognize the danger these kinds of groups pose to the nation and to democracy, that can’t understand the importance of not giving them a political advantage.
Reaching Trump supporters is not the issue. Often, that will prove to be next to impossible. Outreach needs to be done to those who do not have extreme ideas but are willing to tolerate people who do. As much as the rise of Trump is a problem of Trump’s almost cult-like following, there is a movement of people willing to tolerate his movement, willing to vote for a man willing to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power.
It is the result of years of neglect of education in citizenship. For years, researchers and scholars have warned that America was not and is not doing enough to ensure that its youngest citizens learn what they need to know to be effective participants in democracy. As a nation, America must come together to teach its children what citizenship means in the age of mis- and dis-information. The only way out of this crisis is a future generation who knows a Big Lie when they hear one.
Progressive Without Apology 