Merry Shitmas

 Yesterday's obscenity in the US Capitol achieved a weird kind of alchemy. On the one hand it was absolutely pathetic. With regard to the election of 2020, the goons who stomped around the Rotunda and vandalized Speaker Pelosi's office accomplished exactly as much as they could from the outset, which was absolutely nothing. In the realm of political identity, however, they drew boundaries that will force all Americans, especially those who seek elected office, to choose sides and stake claims.

The spirit of the moment was perfectly encapsulated by one thug, who when asked by BBC reporter Robert Moore why he was assaulting Congress, replied, "Because they work for us." The operative word there is "us," as in "us, not you." It doesn't matter that a majority of Americans voted for Congressional representatives who disagree with the ostensible object of yesterday's riot, we in the majority are all wrong. The government belongs to the minority of right-thinking people who wear red hats and worship pictures of the President.

This is of course how every Fascist movement in history has operated. Many of the goons trying to smash the door of the House Chamber no doubt really believe that the election had been "stolen," just as many of Hitler's Brown Shirts believed that a Jewish cabal had betrayed Germany in World War One. The fact that many accept the lie separating the "right" from the "wrong" doesn't make it other than a lie. If history teaches us anything, it is that a movement to destroy democracy must make the truth its first casualty.

Mr. Trump was quite clever in staging yesterday's little piece of reality-TV farce. Moving forward, January 6, 2021 will be a new sign that distinguishes the "wakened" from the deluded. Anyone who wants to continue to claim an ownership stake in "our government" will have to remember January 6 as a day of great patriotism, a surge of righteous rage. Donald Trump will be ready to address the ceremonies to commemorate this great day that will undoubtedly be held on January 6 next year. Any politicians like Ted Cruz or Josh Hawley who want to ride to power on the crest of the MAGA wave will have to be ready to put on a red hat and wax nostalgic about the day that blood ran in the Capitol. 

These "Shitmas" celebrations (a vulgar label, I know, but it aptly describes all that yesterday accomplished, which mainly amounted to throwing feces like a feral chimpanzee) will have a clarifying function for the rest of us. We will be able to recognize anyone who puts on the hat and stands next to Mr. Trump on the podium as a traitor, not so much to the US, but to the principle of democracy itself. If you want to know whose electoral opponents to donate to or what campaign to volunteer for, keep an eye out next January 6. Any politician who wishes us a Merry Shitmas is begging to be given the "Perdue and Loeffler" treatment.