January 6 House Committee is teaching important history

Opinion echo letter published in The Gazette, newspaper in Cedar Rapid Iowa newspaper: 

Spooky January 6 poster is reminiscent of Orwell's 1984 images

I have been following the U.S. House special committee investigation on January 6, 2021. As someone who has taken part in campaigns for both Republican and Democratic candidates, this is not a political event. It is about supporting our constitution and defending our democracy. It is an opportunity for an educational moment for the American public.

According to Cornell Law School, an insurrection is defined as someone or "someones" who incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto. 

If you watch a network that has neglected its responsibility to the American public to cover the hearings, (aka #FakeFox) I suggest that you change the channel and pay attention to what is being said. 

These hearings are constructing an important accounting of American history that even most Republicans agreed is necessary in the immediate aftermath of that horrible insurrectionist day. Some Republicans like Rep. Liz Cheney, have now put country over party, knowing the peril that we face. 

Unfortunately, far too many want to ignore the hearings, even the testimony given under oath by top advisers in former President Donald Trump`s administration and campaign.

To ignore these hearings is to ignore a threat to the most important part of a democratic republic — elected officials’ willingness to relinquish power when they have lost. If we no longer have that, then we no longer have a democracy. That is the threat we face. I hope we rise to face it head on, and it starts with working to understand what led to January 6.

From Dan Voss, in Atkins Iowa