Five years ago today, this nation suffered an attack the likes of which we had not seen since 1861. While the events of January 6th did not involve the same quantity of munitions as the assault on Fort Sumter, these two moments stand alone in our history: they are the only times American citizens openly fought against the stability of their own union.
While the events of January 6th did not involve the same quantity of munitions as the assault on Fort Sumter, these two moments stand alone in our history: they are the only times American citizens openly fought against the stability of their own union.
On that day, the glass shattered at the Capitol, but the more profound breakage was the collapse of a shared belief in what America is supposed to stand for and how it is supposed to function. Just as the issues of slavery and states’ rights had been brewing for decades before the spark at Fort Sumter, the erosion of our national identity—and the watering down of the separation of powers—had its genesis long before 2021. The attack on the peaceful transfer of power was not a sudden accident, but the result of a long-simmering crisis.
The shattering glass at the Capitol was merely the visible break; the more profound fracture was in our shared belief about what America is supposed to stand for.
Five years later, we still cannot agree on the basic facts of that day. Despite the public availability of direct witnesses, video evidence, and the exhaustive results of multiple investigations, the truth remains a partisan battlefield. We see a concerted effort to rewrite history in direct contradiction of the facts, fueled by political interests that benefit from a fractured reality.
As I look back at the images of shattered glass and frantic corridors, I find myself pondering what is required to restore a shared American vision. How do we address the frustration and insecurity that has driven so many to conclude that the pillars of our democracy are either not worth defending or, worse, the very cause of our problems?
We must admit a hard truth: as they take turns wielding power, neither party has adequately addressed the real, daily challenges that plague our citizens.
To find a way forward, we must first admit a hard truth: as they take turns wielding power, neither party has adequately addressed the real, daily challenges that plague our citizens. This failure has created a vacuum of trust that extremism is all too happy to fill.
Second, we must be creative enough to formulate bold solutions that build the economic stability, social solidarity, and civic engagement that once made us the undisputed superpower of the world. We need more than just rhetoric; we need the political will to implement ideas that can power us to new heights.
When America has been attacked by foreign adversaries—as at Pearl Harbor or on 9/11—we rallied together and acted decisively. But the Civil War and January 6th set us against each other, creating wounds that are far harder to heal. The Civil War took four years to reach an official resolution, yet five years after January 6th, it feels as though we have not even reached our “Gettysburg” in this struggle for the soul of the nation.
Five years after January 6th, it feels as though we have not even reached our ‘Gettysburg’ in this struggle for the soul of the nation.
It is time for those of us who believe in the American ideal to rededicate ourselves to the unfinished work that the Capitol Police preserved on that day. We must unleash a new wave of civic energy to create a union that is, once again, more perfect than the one we currently inhabit. We need, as Lincoln said at Gettysburg, “a new birth of freedom.”
