America in Chaos

1/8/2021

Chaos – “complete disorder and confusion”.

Anarchy – “state of disorder due to absence or non-recognition of authority”.

Insurrection – “violent uprising against an authority or government”.

These are the definitions of the events that unfolded a mere two days ago on January 6^th, 2021.

They describe something that this country has been heading towards for an exceptionally long time.

As I watched the images of these “Angry Americans” calling for a stop to the democratic electoral process and then storming the capital of this nation, I had a feeling of such sadness, disbelief, and then anger.

Though most were Caucasian or White Americans there were others also present. The leaders of the different factions and groups were all led by middle aged white men.

There were pictures of the angry mobs of people breaking down doors and windows to overrun and try to stop the electoral process. The same process that has governed this country since its inception and elected their leader. 

They were encouraged and egged on by the current sitting President of the United States just a mere hour before, in a speech he made.

In this speech he said “After this, we’re going to walk down and I’ll be there with you…we’re going walk down to the Capitol and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators, and congressmen and women. We’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong…We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated…”

After that speech was over, The President left, and his supporters marched to the capitol where chaos ensued.

The same tired rhetoric from a man who did not like the fact that he lost his presidential bid for a second term. His ego and pride were bigger than any reasonable thought. It is the only thing that has consumed our country since the elections in November. Even the pandemic that is killing thousands daily was pushed aside.

“We the people of the United States…” is the beginning of our Constitution. The same document that governs our electoral process.  This group of people violently denied that the rest of the nation had their say and chose a different leader.  The new President was chosen because of the actions of the current one and the dissatisfaction with his performance of his duties.  It was a straightforward and clear decision by many.

The past two days in our country has shown the world how truly lost we are as a nation.

This has been building since the beginning of this country and all discord throughout its history is because it was founded on deceit, lies, theft, and a belief that certain groups of people are better or more entitled than others.  It is a shameful and despicable side to humanity.

This is not new though. Every country in the world has gone or is going through the same thing. A fight between the differences of humans whether it is because of religion, politics, social classes, or a myriad of other “things”, it is the weakness we all share, indifference and self-importance.

The anger I felt was not that of an indigenous person, of this continent from a country that tried to assimilate and wipe out our culture, it was that of a Veteran.

I am a retired military veteran who served 20 years of my life to defend the Constitution of the United States. The vow I took to defend it against all enemies foreign and domestic.  That side of me was angry to see so many faces of people who, believed they were in the right.

Yet many most likely never did anything prior to the current presidency to change what was going on in our country.  Most probably did not or still do not know anything about how the democratic process works, how to go about making profound changes, nor do they really care. To them it was a way to show their perceived “power” and so-called “entitlement”. What is this entitlement to?  I still don’t see it.

If you are making less than $100,000 a year in this country, then you are at the middle and bottom.  That is the base of this country that keeps the rest of it supported and going. 

Why did I choose that number? The IRS, Internal Revenue Service, is the part of our government that levies and maintains the collection of the taxes in our country, has a tax table based on income. In their tax tables it changes at $100,000 to a percentage while everyone else under that income has a set dollar amount to pay in taxes. This amount varies and is based on income, household size, and marital status. 

According to the website, Statista, the percentage of household incomes from the US population in 2019 that made under $100,000 totaled 65.9%. This is in stark contrast to the 34.1% of the population that made $100,000 a year and over.  That all changed when the pandemic hit our shores at the beginning of 2020. 

Who knows what the numbers will look like for that year? The aftereffects will be for years to come and will reverberate for generations.  When the pandemic hit here, we were all on the same level playing field.

Then that belief of “Entitlement” came charging to the forefront becoming full blown in every state, town, city, and community. Whether it was an outright denial of the ensuing pandemic and the mask mandates or denial of the people’s right to protests over police actions that targeted certain groups of people solely based on their skin color.

A small percentage of these entitled individuals went charging into our nation’s capital to start a so called “Revolution”. I heard this statement from one of the protestors during an interview afterwards, the protestor was visibly upset and shaken because she couldn’t believe that they sprayed her with mace.

What did she think was going to happen?  This wasn’t a video game, movie, or reenactment, it was real life sweetheart.  You want to play tough, then you better be ready to fight for real, and expect to get hurt when you try to start a war.  In war, it is be prepared to defend yourself, or be killed. There will not be anyone there to save you. There are no superheroes in real life.

I was angry that the so-called Commander in Chief of this country was not the leader we needed. He was only concerned about himself and his image.  This has been prevalent in every action he has taken and every speech he has given since being sworn into this country’s top leadership position. The figure head and speaker to the rest of the world.

This sitting President never denounced the actions of white supremacy groups that acted against Black Lives Matter protestors in the summer. He also failed to take any significant action when his constituents were dying in hospitals. He just kept fanning the flames of hatred and discord between the people of this country until it finally came to a head on January 6^th.  He was indifferent from beginning to end.

These images of the secret service and other officers with weapons drawn, doors barricaded, and rioters trying to break through into the House of Representatives, is forever seared into my thoughts and now will be a part of our history. 

The images of people we elected to represent us lying on the floor and trying to take cover before being evacuated will be in the history books of our nation.

The pictures of the angry mobs of people breaking down doors, windows, and overrunning authorities to stop the same electoral process that elected the president they were defending, was both jarring and disheartening. I saw many people with hats, flags, and jackets proclaiming to be veterans among them.

I took that same oath that these so-called veterans took to protect our country even if it meant protecting it from our own neighbors, co-workers, family, and friends.  The oath we took to ensure that the principles of the Constitution are upheld for all Americans and not just a few. 

Now, how do we move forward from this?  The current administration is calling for removal of the sitting President, but this gesture is a little too late.  They have seen and heard him for the last 4 years and especially his cries of “foul” for the last 2 months, but nothing was done. 

Right now, the people who committed this act of treason and the people who organized it need to be dealt with, if that is what they are going to do. Will it really make a difference?

How does one change the belief system of people who think they were wronged?  The promises made to them were not fulfilled by their leader, yet they stilled believed in him. The actions were either out of desperation or is it ignorance? I would hope that it was not a blatant disregard for human life that compelled them.  These are questions that can’t be answered fully and most likely never will.

I can only hope for not only my family’s sake but for the sake of others that things start moving again.  There is no more so-called normalcy.  Our world changed when that virus traveled everywhere.

It changed how people viewed one another and how we interact with each other. In most cases it brought out the humanity and best of people. Despite that, it also brought out the worst in people, who showed their true colors, much to the dismay of others.

In this country it brought to the forefront the differences between the races and classes here, instead of uniting us, as so many other tragedies in our history had done before.  There was no more being together to fight this and pull each other through it.  That is what the media at large portrayed to the world.

In my community I still saw that glimmer of hope that we will get through this. The people in organizations, that have been helping to sustain the daily lives of the citizens through providing basic needs, put aside their personal differences to help.  It wasn’t about their color, religion, or politics.

That is what we need the most now, to put aside our differences and rebuild. To make our country stronger than before.

Going forward as a citizen, I will continue to do what I see as the right thing to do. Support those organizations, elected officials, and do my civic duty. Support my community if needed. Take care of my family and myself.

This is only a moment in our historical timeline, just a blip from the human existence.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.

Peace, love, happiness, and good vibes to you, always.

Stay safe and take care.

Have a great week!

Suzanne