I wrote an article on Medium, exactly one year ago documenting my shock and utter outrage around the events of January 6th. In it, I expressed disbelief, disenfranchisement in the security of American democracy, and an urge to do something about my then perceived indignation. At that time, I felt the least I could do, as a law-abiding US citizen, was to express my viewpoint — no matter how small and insubstantial, within a sea of national discussion and debate: to show that yes, while I may be one of millions, that within a nation that seeks to represent, to uphold, and uplift each of its citizens, I could still be heard.
Now, on January 6th, 2022, I don’t want to be heard. That article, while it still exists somewhere within the confines of the vast and unyielding internet, now screams a naivety — the mere optimistic views of an inexperienced political follower that believed that following the events of a national catastrophe, unity was now on the doorstep of American democracy. I could never have known, nor predicted that following that consequential day, politicians that denounced rioters and then President Trump’s goading would suddenly turn face, and announce that the entire insurrection was a peaceful “tour” of the Capitol building, that if one hadn’t known better, it would seem a normal day within congressional operation — as if having rioters seeking to subvert the votes of over 81 million Americans was a daily occurrence within the halls of the world’s most powerful democracy.
But enough is enough. Here, on the anniversary of January 6th, I do not feel that rage, shock, or caustic bitterness at the events of the previous year. Those feelings have been replaced by an utter numbness, and an overwhelming sense of foolishness — how could I ever boldly announce that progress would be soon coming, that American democracy had held true to what the founders had planned for, and that hope had finally been rekindled in the burnt out embers of a tired nation, when only one year later over 40 percent of the entire United States believe that Joe Biden, their legitimately elected president, was the by-product of an extensive voter fraud campaign?
I think I speak for most of America when I say that I am tired of hearing January 6th in the media, or when I log in to check the news, or when I scroll past an Instagram feed. Everywhere I look, I no longer see an event that charged the political atmosphere and permanently changed the political environment: I no longer see hope for a better America, a mistake that would help the future America learn and prepare for its trials for the rest of its vaulted legacy. Instead, I see an utter failure by both sides of the aisle. I see a failure of 200 years of American history — I see a failure of world shaking proportions.
And for reasons no-doubt everyone understands, I don’t want to see it anymore. It is one thing for the media to present a problem: it is necessary, essential, even, for the media to present issues to its viewership. It is, however, another thing to present a problem without any hope for a solution — and instead of presenting solutions, go so far as to show how demented American politics has become: that not even an insurrection can change the dynamic, that not even three deaths and a historical event with unmatched historical gravitas since the literal BURNING of Washington DC in the War of 1812 can change how our politicians attack and slash at each other in the name of partisan benefit.
I am tired of seeing a problem that remains so large, and a year later, still seems so insurmountable. Never in my tenure as an American citizen have I felt this hopelessness in the operations of a government that was formed to uplift the voices of a nation — not the voices of corporations, the rich, or the powerful. Never I have ever felt so disenfranchised in the powers of a government that seemed larger than life, so noble in purpose and grandeur that survived, unscathed, while the rest of the world swirled in conundrum.
Our larger than life issues, our intense struggles and crises: there’s a reason why we have forms of government and why we willingly allow leaders to reign above us. While humans may be selfish, power-hungry beings, we are also logical, and understand that larger than life issues require larger than life figures to guide us. Here, in 2022, our larger than life issues have been confronted — but they have been confronted by now realized life-sized figures: figures not immune to failure or reality. Without our perceived saviors and knights with powers beyond that of the ordinary, what else do we have to combat our crises and dilemmas?
America has simply lost faith within its leader’s abilities to solve its problems. And without faith, there is no hope for a better tomorrow. What results is the feeling of screaming into a fervent maelstrom, voices drowned out by a hail of crises after crises and political turmoil after turmoil. No voice is being heard amidst And that’s not to say that this mindset is alone in affecting American government: it seems its tendrils have reached everywhere, most notably the current climate crises and the COVID pandemic.
While in the beginning, confidence and hopes were high as we ventured into uncertain, bio-contaminated territory