Professor Lance Bennett on the UW Center for Journalism, Media & Democracy web site commenting after the recent riot at the U.S. Captitol building:
Democracies are fragile. They require both citizens and elected officials who understand how a democracy works and who actually want to keep it. It is by now clear that when our fellow citizens call to “Save America,” “Make America Great Again”, “Defend Democracy” or “Stop the Steal”, those are coded terms of stopping the political ascendency of the non-white majority in America. They want a return to democracy of, by, and for White people. Even if Trump fades away or ends up in jail, there is already a line forming to inherit his mantle. Trump did not invent the reactionary creed echoing throughout the land. He merely decoded it and helped bring it into the open for all to see.
A simple view of how social and political change occur suggests that laws and institutions structure changes in behavior, and new patterns of behavior, in turn, invite changes in perception and consciousness. Simply repeating “this is not who we are” will not produce reconciliation or change. It is time to admit that we are deeply divided about who we are, and those seeking a more inclusive democratic society must organize politically and impose their will to act differently.