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First they came for the White House Proclamation on the 850th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket and I did speak out because I was not the
Seriously remember when Trump signed a proclamation praising martyrdom & saying rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God, and then one week later told a crowd holding Jesus flags the election was stolen and they should storm the Capitol? How will we ever understand what happened?
Maybe this is obvious but I only now realize that just as Trump followed praise for martyrdom with an opportunity to attain it, he pushed his nonsense #1776Commission and then rioters chanted “1776!” as they attacked. As ever, we should’ve taken him literally and seriously.
Something to be unpacked here about the theoretical underpinnings of mob violence and incitement. On January 6 Trump told his supporters to go the Capitol, but their psychological willingness to do so did not begin there.
We've mainly paid attention to the clear role played by election lies leading up to the Capitol attack, but other, more arcane efforts -- the 850th anniversary of Becket's death, the 1776 Commission -- contributed to efforts to give it all moral and historical legitimacy.
Somehow I had been thinking these things were separate -- on the surface "stop the steal" and the 1776 Commission don't seem to have a lot to do with each other. But it's important to remember that *everything* Trump did was about staying in power. He cared about nothing else.
From the MAGA perspective, it was not just the presidency being stolen, it was their history and their faith. The Big Lie was about the election; the Bigger Lie was about everything.
Most alarming about the events of the past month may be that apparently there will be no consequences for those who pushed the disinformation that nearly broke the country, and may yet do so. No consequences except for the sad sacks who put their bodies on the line for the lie.
