BRATTLEBORO — How can we find hope in these difficult times?
It's a really interesting time right now in the pandemic, especially because there's a glimmer of hope with vaccines rolling out.
But there's also fear of mutations to the virus and of other coronaviruses on the horizon. Another area of concern is the insidious attack on the Capitol and the realization that it was very possibly an inside job.
All of this weighs heavily on anyone in the United States who knows anything about her history and cares about democracy and the health and well-being of our most vulnerable people.
I hope that any co-conspirators inside the House of Representatives and Senate get prosecuted to the greatest extent of the law. The truth is, if that had been a Black Lives Matter protest, everyone around the Capitol building would have been pepper sprayed, shot with rubber bullets and tear gas, rounded up, and arrested.
It's not like the authorities didn't know about this uprising; the culprits used social media to boast of it and send threatening videos.
* * *
As a citizen, I am shocked by the turn of events but certainly not baffled by them.
Even a casual observer of our country's divisive politics would have known that there was and is unrest simmering below the surface: socioeconomic hardship, and a sociopathic demagogue for a leader who spoke to his delusional base and gave them power - power to smash the windows of the people's house and follow the itinerary and layout of the floor plan learned the day before.
It's unfathomable to me that this happened, but if we truly ask ourselves why and how, we can easily look at our situation and find some answers.
If the incendiary and vitriolic speeches by the former president are deemed protected free speech and he's not held responsible for stirring up this faction of his violent-prone, cult-like base, then the law to protect all citizens is in danger of dying.
If the military and police force in our country harbor colluders among those who have taken an oath to serve and protect us, and if GOP senators and representatives in Congress are plotting to overthrow the government and support violence, they, too, must be identified and prosecuted.
This goes beyond conspiracy theories into a visible and harsh reality. The blatant and unhinged chatter on social media by this group of white supremacists held in the thrall of a despotic and desperate leader will inevitably bring them down.
We can only hope that justice will prevail.
* * *
There is hope when one listens to our Democratic leaders whose speeches are so eloquent and intelligent: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and senators like Bernie Sanders, Rev. Raphael Warnock, and Sheldon Whitehouse are heroes on the other side of the aisle.
Merrick Garland, the perfect pick for attorney general, now has his day in court. Another ray of hope on the horizon is Biden's pick of a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. David Kessler, to lead the federal vaccine efforts.
Rep. Jamie Raskin and Sarah Bloom Raskin offered hope in the face of tragedy in their beautiful tribute to their son, Tommy Raskin, who died by suicide, when they pleaded with readers to go out and focus on doing acts of kindness.
I have great hope that the Biden-Harris team will lead by example and we will be able to leave this hellish period behind.