To the editor:
The events one year ago today were an attempted “putsch,” not an “insurrection.” There’s a difference. An insurrection is a singular act against an established government. It’s a violent protest. That’s not what happened on Jan. 6, 2021.
Steve Bannon knew the difference and he told us so the day before, publicly, from the “War Room” at the Willard Hotel across from the White House.
Bannon announced, “All hell is going to break loose tomorrow. Just understand this. All hell is going to break loose tomorrow. It’s not going to happen like you think it’s going to happen…”
Truer words are rarely spoken. On Jan. 6, after stirring the mob with well-rehearsed incitements, Trump took a limo back to the White House to watch the show on TV and waited to see what would happen.
Would it be the putsch of Trump’s or Bannon’s fevered imagination? Would it topple the elected government of the United States of America? Would Mike Pence flee along with Congress, leaving the stage of history open for the “Great Man” to step forward and “make America great again?”
The whole point of a putsch is to set something in progress and see where it will go. If the timing is right, things will explode in your favor. If not, well, you can just blather a public statement, deny that you caused any trouble, restart the Big Lie about what actually happened, blame others, and vow to carry on.
There are men and women who have no respect for the democratic republic created in 1787, the perfection of which is found in an understanding that it was not written in stone. They understood it could and would evolve over time, and that the path toward a peaceful future lay open before all good citizens.
Unfortunately, not all citizens are by their nature “good.” And good paths, clear as they may be, are not always chosen. The Founders understood that. They created checks and balances.
The putsch that failed a year ago did so because most Americans took seriously the words of Abraham Lincoln, urging us “to secure such an inestimable jewel.” It must be protected.
The attempted overthrow of the American democratic republic — the putsch — must be investigated honestly and understood clearly. Only then can we redouble our efforts to make this world a cleaner, safer, more verdant, less violent place for our kids and their kids.
Jim Walsh
Nahant
