In light of yesterday’s coup at the White House, I know that I, along with many others are holding our breath until Biden is sworn in on the 20th. While I intuitively knew for weeks – months even – that something like this would happen, I was not prepared for the unease and stress that I experienced while watching the news unfold yesterday. Our country has not felt this vulnerable since 9/11; and it is not just from the political division that has been growing more intense. COVID, the enforced isolation, and the loss of income for so many, has allowed fear to engulf large numbers of people. Like cornered and trapped animals, they become unpredictable. This is partly why Trump was able to brainwash and manipulate so many. He fed their fears with lies and hatred, fueling their anger.
A former army general was being interviewed on PBS last night and affirmed my own angst, saying that, “Trump will stop at nothing to retain his power.” Many people over the past months have alluded to Trump’s similarities to Hitler and to other dictators around the world. Fortunately, most of the other lawmakers have at last concluded that Trump has gone too far in instigating the anarchy and the attack on our democracy that we witnessed yesterday. Even his vice president, Mike Pence, at long last stood against him, refusing to break the law by assuming power he did not actually have.
The next two weeks will keep the American people sitting on pins and needles. Once Biden is sworn in, it is doubtful that Trump will go away; but with enough prayers and enough love our country will emerge from the blight that Trump has infected us with. We must all take a deep breath and face the new day, whatever it brings.
