JULY 22, 2022 – Last night I watched the Jan 6 Committee hearing, which lived up to its billing as a “barn-burner.” Outside the cult and the Kool-Aid exist two possible reactions to the proceedings.
On the negative side, given the raw evidence of Trump’s depravity—and the fealty he still commands—a person can sink into deep depression over the state of our Republic. How can a chilling percentage of Americans still fall for a guy obsessed with “winning” at the expense of everyone else losing? How in our great country can a major political party excuse (or condone) a band of hooligans busting into the Capitol and chanting “Hang Mike Pence”—a leader of their own party?!
Most depressing: Why hasn’t the evidence exposed by the Committee set the nation’s hair on fire? What foundational damage has the Trump cult caused by its baseless rant that the election was stolen? And . . . will the Great American Experiment end with the next election, poisoned by Trump?
But then there’s the positive view: The patriotic testimony of Matthew Pottinger, former Deputy National Security Advisor and a Trump appointee, no less—and the Periclean soliloquies of Committee members Luria, Cheney, and Kinzinger.
Perhaps “Periclean” is better reserved for the most eloquent speeches in our nation’s history: Washington’s Farewell Address, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural Speech, JFK’s Inaugural Speech, FDR’s “We have nothing to fear but fear itself” oration, and perhaps best of all, RFK’s impromptu words in Indiana after Bobby learned of MLK’s assassination—a speech in which he recited by memory a poem by Aeschylus. But nonetheless, all three of the Committee members featured in yesterday’s hearing spoke clearly, incisively, courageously about the dangers we faced—and will continue to confront if attempted murder of the rule of law isn’t condemned and the would-be seditious killer isn’t held to account.
In the selfless work of the Committee—especially Cheney and Kinzinger, who’ve sacrificed their political careers—I find great hope and inspiration. And the Committee members aren’t alone in Congress. Nor are they isolated from millions of American citizens who know right from wrong; truth from falsehoods; fact from fiction, and see Cheney and Kinzinger, Luria, and all the other Committee members, as people of character and integrity, committed to long-accepted American ideals.
All of this falls outside substantive policy. Cheney’s voting record, for example, aligned with Trump 94% of the time. Kinzinger likewise is a “proven” conservative. On many issues, I disagree with both heroes. Yet, I realize that in a democracy as diverse as ours, with so many powerful and competing interests and perspectives, what matters most is not whether our elected officials are liberal, conservative, or in between. What matters most is whether they have character and integrity and are committed to American ideals, especially when political fortunes are on the line.
This was the grand takeaway from the Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmation hearings. Senator Cory Booker, in his reflections about governance, struck the bull’s eye: “What matters most,” he said, “is character.”
Character is what shone irrepressibly in yesterday’s Jan 6 Committee hearing. In its glow, all Americans should find hope and promise.
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© 2022 by Eric Nilsson
