With the passing of the anniversary of the 2021 insurrection (riot or whatever you want to call it) at the U.S. Capitol, I wanted to draw a comparison of myself and those who participated that day.
My characteristics, my circumstances:
- I’m facing over 25 years of college loan payments. I will probably be dead long before that debt is paid. I’m looking at living out the balance of my life as an indentured servant.
- I’ve worked over 40 years at 2 and 3 jobs. Still living hand-to-mouth with nothing to show for it. Worked overtime much of this time. Worked on an innumerable number of well intentioned efforts. Wonder if it was not all for naught.
- I have not taken a vacation (i.e., a week away relaxing somewhere) for well over 20 years. Days off have included activities such as burying loved ones, moving the belongings of deceased family, cleaning out basements and garages and painting rooms.
- I’m house poor paying over 50% of monthly income for the past 30 years just to survive in astronomically overpriced housing market of Fairfield County in CT.
- My mortgage will be paid off within 2 years (good news). My house continues to deteriorate and may even collapse (or I might collapse before it) within 2 years (bad news).
- I’m now aware of all the lies that have been propagated all these years: Gulf of Tonkin naval incident was NOT caused by the North Vietnamese, the Soviets did NOT have military superiority, NO weapons of mass destruction were ever found in Iraq, the elites in government, business (big pharma, big banks, big insurance) are NOT working in your best interests (I could go on and on).
So what’s the characteristics and circumstances of the participants of the January 6, 2021 insurrection?
Their specific stories and backgrounds may differ but they all seem to have one thing in common…..they were not happy campers. And my sense is that they share many of the above listed list of grievances and regrets I listed concerning myself.
Now, here’s where I differ from them:
- I only condone violence in cases of self-defense. They caused the violence and the cops had to do the defending.
- I support the rule of law and the constitution. They claim to be supporting the constitution but in actuality the events of that day resembled more of a coup and that’s anything but constitutional or orderly.
- I do not blame any president, institution or organization for my circumstances and my woes. As the saying goes, “I made my bed and now I have to sleep in it”.
Yes, I’m angry and hurting, feeling marginalized, disrespected, trapped, threatened, and anxious just like members of that mob on January 6th.
However, I differ in one major way. I’m a patriot and they are not (despite their claim to be patriots). Like some of them, I question authority and have a healthy dose of skepticism but I am not blinded by conspiratorial theories, outright lies and a blind faith in demagoguery. As a patriot, it’s my patriotic duty in these twilight years of my life (and I have seen a lot of life) to work like hell to never let mob rule undermine our democratic (small “d”), constitutional form of government.
I hope that I have presented a balanced, thoughtful response to last years mayhem and if you are of like mind, I would greatly appreciate your support and feedback.
Check out http://www.dunnwriteswell.com concerning this blog and similar blogs from this socio-economic, poli-sci, cultural commentary junkie.
Dunn Writes Well 