Thursday, January 7, 2021

The Death of Peaceful Protest?

Watching yesterday's festivities unfold reminded me of a quote from John Adams. Adams thought very little of Thomas Paine, the author of Common Sense and by all accounts an extremist figure in America's Revolution who advocated separation from the corrupt British Monarchy, through violence if necessary. When asked what he thought of Paine, Adams said, "He is a man who would tear down a house without the skills to build one back up." 

In light of all that has been said and done during 2020's protests, this week's escapade feels (and is) hypocritical and a bit silly. The weekend warriors with an degree in constitutional law from Internet Rabbit-Hole University have had their fun, and in doing so have removed a brick or two from the foundation of American Conservatism. Their legacy will not be raising congress' awareness of the real issues for Americans, "taking back the government," watering the tree of liberty, or any other endeavor that would be worth their time. It will be creating a headache for the men and women of capitol security, aimlessly and giddily roaming the capital building, and making every sensible American feel ashamed and embarrassed. It is crime, inexcusable in any context, but particularly when protests of a similar spirit were so roundly condemned by the President and his supporters only months ago in cities like Portland, Seattle and Kenosha. Can any serious argument be made to differentiate these two movements? I cannot. They are both senseless crime dressed up as deep, esoteric social causes, and no amount of tortured apologetics can justify either of them.

Uncomfortable as it is, this week's protest takes a cue from several left-wing movements, including sit-ins and teach-ins at universities during the 60's, the occupation of Alcatraz Island by Native American Activists (Creedence Clearwater Revival gave them a boat!), the Occupy Movement, and of course this year's Anti-Police/Anti-Everything Riots in several cities. The Bundy escapade at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2016 takes the award as most visible right-wing occupation of government property in recent memory, which was undermined by the group's apparent need for snacks and entertainment. But this week's protests upped the stakes a bit. Sitting in Nancy Pelosi's chair? Ballsy! Dressing up in your cool militia gear and breaking windows? Exhilarating!  Dressing up Gerald Ford's statue with Trump stuff and taking a picture with it? ....Confusing!

Much of this week's unrest centers around a (almost universally debunked) belief that a massive, nationwide conspiracy has undermined the integrity of our elections. If we are willing to look at evidence regarding those claims with any objectivity, we find that the decentralized process of national vote counting makes such fraud virtually impossible. American election fraud has a long, well-documented past, but has not been a significant problem in recent elections (with the possible exception of Florida's halted recount in 2000). President Trump and his platform have lost two consecutive popular elections by significant margins, and Mr. Trump's can-do attitude regarding his increasingly silly legal battles will not make it otherwise. I wish that only a fraction of the outrage seen this week was directed at foreign actors attempting to radicalize Americans through social media, the fruits of which we are now seeing. But that is a topic for another time.  

Americans have always hated elitism, and rightfully so. Much of our Revolution's animus came not from taxation or human rights, but from a disgust with British elites who could not help but look down their noses at the upstarts and provincials in America. That hate has become a deep suspicion of expertise, sometimes well-founded, but in some cases it has become a hatred of complicated things, like principled, non-violent protest. Feeding such hatred makes peaceful protests and an aversion to violent politics outdated, but is a fire that will burn very hot and bright and will only end in ashes. To use Mr. Adams' words, we will tear down our entire house, just to spite our attic.

So who's to blame for the mess? Depends on who you ask. Politicians are a legitimate but an easy place to look. As they were yesterday, they are often the target, but as is their job, they are generally masters of defecting or dodging responsibility altogether. They will likely find a way to use yesterday's events as another brick in the narrative they are already constructing, and that is to be expected. I put much of the blame on tailored marketing and the deprioritization of civic education in schools (I am of course biased regarding that). A civic-minded public with a strong background in how and why our government works would not produce or vote for the kinds of people that are now leading us. Frustrating as they might be, modern American politics are absolutely representative of the American populace, and until we stop blaming them and look in the mirror, they will continue to accrue power and we will continue to wonder why. Though much publicized, I believe it is worth saying that an essential element of our popular democracy that is the ability to communicate grievances respectfully and within a legal framework, which is of course one of those pesky "complicated things" that is easy to hate and misconstrue. 

So in short, the lesson today from Internet Rabbit-Hole University is this: Our constitution gives us the right to participate in the political process, but it does not protect our right to commit crimes when we are mad. The genius of the American system is that if we are willing to work within the system, we can influence it, if not change it. Stepping outside of that system will land you in prison with other criminals, and while some of us can afford to spend that kind of time and money on abstract causes, most cannot. Yesterday was not the Boston Tea Party, it was an attempted coup by people who are angry over a legitimate election in which they were allowed to participate. I would say they came to Washington for their participation trophy, and I suppose they got it.