On Jan. 6, 2021, at approximately noon, countless MAGA-hat-wearing Trump supporters, firearm-equipped far-right militants, hate groups and Confederate flag-waving white supremacists flooded Pennsylvania Avenue and congregated against the 117th United States Congress in the efforts to appease their savior, President Donald Trump. They threw down the gauntlet at the steps of the Capitol Building to usher the fall of the new president-elect, Joe Biden. But this was not divine intervention. It was deceitful indoctrination. 

Weeks before the Electoral College vote count date, the incumbent president endorsed both “Stop The Steal” protests and the “Save America” rally through his social media. In these posts, he devised a desperate contingency plan for thousands of his supporters to convene at the Ellipse (at the generous expense of many eager political donors) on the morning of Jan. 6. There, President Trump delivered the most disruptive and inciting rhetoric of his presidency under the pretense that his victory was absolute and triumphant: “We fight like Hell and if you don’t fight like Hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” By 2:00 p.m., the Capitol underwent its most hideous defacement in history. We have all witnessed the live curation of another chapter being printed into the history books.

Insurrection, sedition, treason, the “storming of the Capitol” was an atrocity. Yet there is a greater issue that lies ahead. Aside from the fact that these rioters committed various acts of crime, the one who should take most, if not all, of the responsibility is Donald Trump. As the central figurehead of one of the most powerful countries in the world, one would assume that the president would hold his standards high and his ego low to run a tight and effective government. Yet, to one’s surprise, Trump has completely disregarded the wisdom imparted to us by our Founding Fathers, and so have we.

Alexander Hamilton produced insightful literature about the executive branch in the Federalist Papers. “In Federalist 57”, Hamilton writes, “the aim of every political constitution is, or ought to be, first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue, the common good of the society…” More plainly, in “Federalist 70”, Hamilton states, “a feeble Executive implies a feeble execution of the government.” 

President Trump’s sheer disrespect for the sanctity of the republic as well as his utilization of mob mentality and the disregard of his supporters exhibits the malevolent ego of a mob boss. These acts reveal a deep irony when compared to his labeling of peaceful, Black Lives Matter protestors as “thugs.”

We have failed as a nation, as a once ever-evolving republic, by allowing such a man to corrupt his fellow citizens into endangering others and inciting chaos. Our integrity as a nation has been deformed. To be reminded of this embarrassment from now on is disheartening, and to be considered a laughingstock globally due to one man’s ill-equipped leadership makes me ashamed to be an American citizen. But this is not where we fall short and succumb to misery and shame. Time and time again, we must adhere to the wisdom given to us by the cyclical nature of history. President Biden’s new term must bring about change to the executive branch, and hopefully, when four years pass, we will have better choices of who can lead our nation. 

As an electorate, we must acknowledge the beauty and uniqueness of our republic and amend our wrongs with humility and an eye for the prosperity of the next generation of Americans. Unity must be our focus, not blame.