Jan 6th, 2021 – A dark day in US history

Dear Avery,

On the morning of January 6th, the first thing I did when I woke up was check the Georgia runoff election results. Would the Democrats take over the Senate or not? It came down this election. One Democrat senator had won, the other on the verge of winning (later to win!). I took a deep breath and a sigh of relief. You see, while it’s our human nature to want “our side” to win or be right, my main hope is that Democrats have an equal playing field so that the President I voted for will have a better shot at putting his plans into action. I want our government to take climate change, equal rights for all, and healthcare seriously. That’s it. That’s the root of it for me.

As the day went on, I did feel lighter. I had hope. Maybe these past 4 years will be behind us soon. Maybe now that this new administration is made up of people from all walks of life (and a better representation of what American ACTUALLY looks like), we’ll see new perspectives and get better outcomes.

And then something changed. A group of domestic terrorists invaded our nation’s Capitol. A group of uncivilized (and clearly uneducated on how our democracy works) people decided to embarrass the nation. Their siege was uncalled for and pathetic. And frankly it gave me physical pain in my heart. I could feel the anxiety sit on my chest as I watched our Capitol being attacked. Could this really be happening? Yes, I’m afraid so.

You see, Avery, this tension has been building up for many, many years. And today, we witnessed its breaking point. Divisions, lies and conspiracies, corruption, hatred, racism, sexism have been bubbling and bubbling… and today, they popped. They broke open for the world to see our flaws, our reality, our truths even when we couldn’t see them ourselves.

Today was heavy and I felt great sadness. But tomorrow will come, and I hope we unify quickly and rebound from this terror in the days ahead. But also I hope that we pause, take a breath and reflect on this present moment. Where we are, how we got here, and how we must move on and be better than this. We can’t undo our past, but we can learn from it.

I have hope. I have to. I’m a mother now, and I need to believe that my son will grow up in a kinder, more accepting world. You’ll be 10 years old soon, Avery, and you are old enough to understand what is happening. I want you to not be in fear, but to live courageously and be proud of the country you were born into. I have hope that you will. We just need to stop and take a long breath. Be kinder to each other. Look for the helpers within the chaos. And do better. Be better.

With love,

Aunt Megs