The Central Issue

 

Welcome to I Don’t Wanna, episode 4,289.*

I’m not quite sure why this morning in particular has been such a rocky start for me. I woke with such an intense feeling of anxiety and dread.

I suppose it could be any number of things. Don’t we have plenty of things to worry about these days? (I won’t enumerate them. I’m sure you have your own list.) 

To be honest I think this growing anxiety and dread stems from the approaching anniversary of rioting and insurrection, in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021. I can be grateful that those intent on the violent overthrow of our democratic system of government did not prevail, yet still be painfully aware of how close they came to success. 

I don’t have any feeling of confidence that it won’t happen again.

Here and there I see comments/declarations/rants from people who live in Howard County whose sympathies lie with the insurrectionists. This is not some isolated event that happened in another place. This is the product of a poison which has been spread from community to community, from neighbor neighbor.

Either you believe in working to sustain democracy or you don’t. You’ll find no both sides argument from me. Public servants should be elected because they have successfully made their case with voters, or can stand on a successful record of service. No one should be in power through suppressing votes, intimidating voters, or by having their office delivered to them by murderous rioters.

This is not a lecture from me to you. It is more like a child’s prayer said in the face of a dark night. A reminder of what I believe and what I am challenging myself to live by.

Not one person should be elected to public office in Columbia/HoCo who does not disavow perpetrators of this horrific event. And by this I mean they must not merely articulate clearly where they stand, but, they must also show by words, actions, votes, initiatives, and alliances, that they stand for actual democracy. It can’t be a different message for different groups, depending on the day and on carefully crafted “spin.”

This central issue will define how I view elections for the rest of my life. 

*completely random number