Well, That Was Fucking… Interesting.

(Note: this was first written January 6th, 9pm EST. I later edited it this morning to clarify any fits of passion. I’m pissed.)

I was going to write a blog today about how one of my New Year’s Resolutions (aside from losing my COVID 10… ok, 16 pounds) was to get back on schedule. Writing blocks throughout the day: time to write, time to edit, time to participate in reading stories in my writing group, time to tweet/blog/query/all that other fun stuff that comes with trying to become a professional author.

And I’d done pretty well, too! Seriously, was all set to brag.

Then, uh, there was an assault on the United States Capitol. And gosh if that didn’t destroy productivity.

As a history buff, and someone deeply invested in modern politics (as anyone with children should be, frankly), I was breathless trying to explain how big of a deal this was to my wife. Images of the United States flag being removed and replaced with a Trump flag… on the US Capitol… it’s actually hard to go into hyperbole how big of a deal that really is/was.

Deep down, we knew they would lose. Of course they would. No matter the collective indifference of both the D.C. police as well as the POTUS, an unruly mob was not going to overthrow our democracy and end our republic in a day. The real question in my mind was how bad was it going to get. Fortunately, no members of Congress were harmed or worse, which was my greatest fear. (That is not meant to downplay the fact that a woman indeed lost her life.)

But the ramifications are stunning, and we’re not going to fully understand them, not for a while anyways. If Trump serves out the rest of his term as acting President, then that is hands down the greatest abdication of responsibility by our entire government in modern history. We watched a madman attempt to turn his followers into an open coup. It remains to be seen if those affected by this–including his Vice President, who he effectively called a coward *during the siege*–will take action.

To be clear, the line has been drawn. Make it known to anyone and everyone: you can no longer claim to be an American and also a Trump supporter. Don’t let anyone say otherwise. Push them. Make them understand that they now support an open traitor to our republic, to our Constitution.

There had been handwringing as of late about ‘what happens when the next Trump arises’. Now that we’ve crossed the threshold where an authoritarian lunatic has been President, we can never again ignore the possibility of it reoccurring. The greatest fear expressed has been that next time, said authoritarian won’t also be a downright buffoon. (And look how much power said buffoon was still able to wield!)

If the combined Senate, House, and Vice President don’t take swift and drastic action, then those stakes have just been raised to brand new levels. Trump sat and refused to call his people back for over an hour. And when he did speak out, he first simply requested ‘no violence’. When someone finally convinced him to record a video telling them to go home, he still assured them that they were right, and that he loved them and they were very special.

Oh, and he refused to let the DoD authorize the National Guard to intervene. Virginia and Maryland had to do so, and later Pence himself. (Statehood for D.C.!)

A flag was taken down from our Capitol building, and replaced with the flag of a wanna be dictator. And that dictator is currently our sitting President. If Trump is not removed–either via new, fast-tracked articles of Impeachment, or via Amendment 25, both of which I bet would have the requisite Republican support now–then next time, that flag may fly far longer than just the few hours this assault occurred.

This cannot stand. There’s no waiting out the last few weeks of Trump’s reign. He needs to be removed, and removed now.

And then try the orange bastard for treason.

Because otherwise, the next Trump is going to be more successful.

Good night morning to you all, stay safe, and long live democracy.