The Evil of Anarchy
Hazarding any sort of guess about what people in the future will remember about our day is just that: a hazard. Memories are short, the news cycle rapid, and it seems plausible that nearly anything could be quickly forgotten. But the events of today feel different. Violent protestors stormed the Capitol building of the United States, disrupting the counting of electoral votes, and creating a situation in which one woman was shot dead. This is not the sort of event which is supposed to happen in our country. The peaceful transfer of power is central to our ongoing stability as a nation. And until now, such a transfer seemed a forgone conclusion. But today, we learned what we should have already known: words matter. The stoking of unfounded fears, anger, and conspiracy theories by the President of the United States, the fanning of those verbal flames by media personalities, and the willingness of many people to act on what was (at least tacitly) encouraged has led to a lawlessness t...