During this first year of Trump’s second presidency, I find myself thinking of 1984 on a near-daily basis. (I mean Orwell’s book, not Van Halen’s seminal album, and yes, Family Guy did an amusing riff on that).
Today, it’s this quote that keeps playing in my head: “The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became the truth.”
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It’s the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection — a day that should live in infamy. The U.S. Capitol was desecrated. The lives of Vice President Mike Pence and members of Congress were threatened just for doing their constitutional duty to certify Joe Biden’s election. Five people died and 140 police officers were injured.
None of this just happened. This was a pro-Trump coup. In the words of former Special Counsel Jack Smith, Jan. 6 "does not happen" without Donald Trump, who was the "most culpable and most responsible person" for the criminal conspiracy to overturn his 2020 election loss.
But now that Trump is back in the White House, he’s made it his mission to erase the truth about Jan. 6 and turn traitors into heroes. The White House today debuted a page blaming Nancy Pelosi and calling Democrats the “real insurrectionists.” This is a real thing that happened. Every day we’re just living in Stephen Miller’s bitter, trolling fantasies.
I hate it here. I know you do, too. But we can’t let them win. We can’t let Trump’s version of history become the one our kids and grandkids learn in school. It’s up to us to stand up for truth, for decency, for our democracy.
So if you haven’t already, subscribe to Lincoln Square. Join the fight. We need you. And tune into this edition of my show with Edwin Eisendrath and let us know what you think.
