Dan Rather: America the Beautiful Reflections on the echoes of January 6.
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And then, January 6.
I don’t need to paint yet another detailed picture of what happened. The images, sounds, and stories from that day are seared into our national consciousness and will be part of any reckoning with the history of this country. What we saw, heard, and felt, can never be unseen, unheard, or unfelt. Donald Trump long had been pushing us to the brink of ruin as a nation, but on that day we were all forced to stare, quite literally, into the abyss.
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It is true that the horror of those attacks, like the horrors of January 6, live on with us. They are scars on our national psyche. But scars can heal, even if they are not forgotten. This country has a lot of scars, but also has had a lot of healing. It’s not because we somehow walk blindly with God’s grace upon us. It’s because those who came before us toiled, sometimes to their very death, for progress. It’s because of hard work, of action, of organizing, and voting. We don’t believe, or at least damn well shouldn’t believe, that our presidents are anointed. That’s the talk of monarchies and cults. We elect our leaders. We must know they are flawed, like all of us. But buoyed by communities of conscience, we can forge progress and nurture hope.
The task before us is to once again rebuild America’s special place upon a hill. Not to demand fealty from others but to be a beacon that a multiethnic, multicultural polity is not only possible, but that it can be a source of strength. To make this a reality, we cannot forget the tears we have shed, or the tears of those who came before us. But we also cannot dismiss the joy that comes with hope.
Let that joy and that hope be more than ephemeral. Let it be a catalyst that drives us forward to action, and to change. As we step into a new day, let us look clear-eyed into the future but also within ourselves. After the events of January 6, and all that preceded it, it is evident, more than ever, that we have no excuse but to know who we are and who we have been, for better and for worse. This burden of knowledge is ours to bear. As we seek that elusive, shining hilltop, may we reckon with the past, engage with the present, and work to make a better future. The process of doing, of action, makes our goals more attainable. So let us stride forward, together, under a banner of hope, but also of justice.
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and so much more (beautifully written):
https://steady.substack.com/p/america-the-beautiful