Let’s start by agreeing on some facts that have been recently clarified.
The House managers displayed all of Trumps tweets and quotes about election fraud prior to Jan.6, 2020. This information allowed us to understand that the riot would not have occurred if Donald Trump had not consistently claimed that the election was fraudulent both before and after all the votes were counted. All 60 state election court cases and investigations showed that no significant fraud occurred in the states that Trump lost by small numbers of votes.
Georgia conducted two recounts and because no fraud was found, all the election officials and Secretary of State Raffensberger certified Biden as the winner, despite being repeatedly harassed by Trump and others.
Biden’s popular vote count was about 7 million more than Trump’s, and his 307 electoral votes proved that Biden was far more popular than Trump was in 2016 as well as in 2020.
Trump repeatedly refused to admit that he lost. He repeated his lies on Twitter and at rallies, instead of organizing the vaccine rollout or helping to get the Covid Relief bill passed. Trump claimed that thousands of noncitizens and dead people had voted, that thousands of Republican ballots had been destroyed or uncounted, and that many Democrats had voted twice.
Christopher Krebs, who worked on election security for Trump, claimed that the November 2020 election was the most securely conducted election in U.S. history. Krebs was fired by Trump, but he continued to speak and write about election security and Trumps lies about election fraud.
Unfortunately, a significant number of Trump’s followers have not heard about Krebs or Raffensberger. Others appear to be incapable of believing anyone except Trump.
This is how tyrants gain power. They repeat misinformation, silence their opponents, and demand personal loyalty.
Some of Trumps followers came to the Capitol on Jan 6 to “Stop the Steal” and to “fight to get their country back”. Some brought guns and munitions which they fortunately hid or kept in their cars because there are strict gun laws in Washington, D.C. Mitch McConnell and Trump’s defense lawyer both clearly stated that all those who came to the Capitol and committed and acts of violence or vandalism must be indicted, tried, and punished.
Many Republican leaders and millions of Americans are also demanding that Trump be tried in the state or federal courts because his Impeachment trial revealed dereliction of duty and perhaps other criminal acts. Others fear retribution from Trump and his followers, or worry that we might never again witness peaceful transfers of power unless he is held accountable for his lies about the election.
Here are 10 suggestions that might help strengthen and heal our democracy in the months ahead:
1. We can vote wisely and empower our leaders at all levels of government to act with integrity, to protect and defend voting rights, and investigate corruption and tyrannical behavior.
2. We can become poll workers and observers who help make our voting processes so secure and transparent that nothing can be done to manipulate or miscount our votes.
3. We can demand accountability for all politicians, pundits, and journalists who knowingly repeat lies. (Currently some are being sued by Dominion CEO’s for repeating false claims that their voting machines were hacked).
4. We can become aware of the words and actions that often incite violence and hate, avoid them ourselves and remind others of past and present dangers.
5. We can hold our political leaders, police, military personnel, and others accountable for inciting violence and hateful actions by removing them from positions of power.
6. We can ask Internet companies to remove the comments of Trump and others who harass or torment us with hateful comments, incitement to violence, and proven lies.
7. We can demand information about taxes and conflicts of interest from all candidates who are running for office and display this information on websites that are monitored for accuracy.
8. We can learn to cultivate compassion and empathy for each other, listen to our different viewpoints, and focus on policies that promote fairness and justice for all.
9. We can focus on healing the environment, preventing further global warming and healing people who are suffering mentally, physically, or financially.
10. We can reach out to neighbors and relatives and assure them that we believe in forgiveness, compassion, and non-violent protests, and strive to treat each other respectfully.
Emma Stamas is a resident of Colrain.