Last year around this time, Americans stormed the Capitol in an attempted insurrection to “Stop the Steal.” Attorney General Merrick Garland spoke at the first anniversary of that attack, identifying that the Department of Justice has issued 5,000 subpoenas and arrested 725 defendants, indicating that the process will ultimately reach not just perpetrators, but also instigators, whether they were present or not. Despite the deep divides which continue to plague our nation, Americans this year still have the chance to come to terms with what happened, reject the toxic political environment which emboldened the uprising and embrace the democratic tenets which fostered American exceptionalism.
Originally posted for the Orlando Sentinel’s Central Florida 100.