We saw domestic terrorism on Wednesday.

We saw an event that is seen in corrupt, third world countries.

We saw a “leader” that the Founding Fathers never would have wanted elected. 

It has been awhile since my last edition of Prospector Political Publish. This was intentional. After the stressful election that occurred in the beginning of November, I decided that I needed to give myself a political detox. Since I am obviously obsessed with politics, this was a difficult yet necessary decision.

I still stayed in the loop on political issues and watched C-SPAN from time to time, but I made sure that I would not be doing any blog posts or podcasts until President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris were inaugurated. I figured that the months after the election would consist of Biden choosing his Cabinet nominees and President Donald Trump rambling on and on about false claims of voter fraud. 

While my prediction was correct, the events of this week prove that this is no longer a time for anybody to stay silent. The top editorial writers over at major publications are able to use their vast platforms to spark change, but there is no platform for this country’s teenagers to do the same thing. That is why I have done Prospector Political Publish for over a year and why this edition is the most important one that I will ever write.

I am a Democrat and I have never respected Trump — that much is obvious by now. However, those two aspects of my political view in no way, shape or form are the reasons as to why I am deeply disgraced for the heinous events that occurred at one of our country’s greatest sights: the Capitol Building.

That building is a structure I admire and look to when I want to see a symbol of American strength and pride. Quite literally, my computer background has been a picture of the Capitol Building for years because it is my favorite building in the entire world.

Before my eighth grade field trip to Washington, D.C., I never viewed the Capitol in any special way. To me, it was just a building. I know this is going to sound pretentious and stupid, but seeing that building in person can completely change someone. After all, it changed me.

When I first laid eyes on the Capitol, I no longer saw a building. I saw the center of American greatness. This building is where our federal elected officials come together and pass landmark legislation that changes this country. This building is where nearly every president has been inaugurated and the most important pieces of legislation have been passed. This is the building that gave us the Voting Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Civil Rights Act and so many more.    

I viewed the Capitol as something godly for nearly five years. That godly view has since been tarnished by the insurrection that took hold of it this week. The sacred, hallowed halls of that great building will forever hold the stain of anti-American thugs vandalizing it and decorating it with Trump gear and Confederate flags. Notice that the flags those domestic terrorists proudly flew did not contain the powerful 50 stars and 13 stripes; they contained the name Trump.

Yes, the rioters are no longer in the building and the physical damages they caused are being repaired, but the images of that day will forever live on. The last time our Capitol was breached was by British troops during the War of 1812 — let us hope that it is never breached ever again. One time was too many; two times is unforgivable.

I can go on and on about what scar Jan. 6, 2021 will forever contain, but it is now time to condemn the individuals who allowed this attack to happen. Trump and the Republican members of Congress are the ones to blame for this attack on our symbol of strength. Trump promoted and incited the violence, and the Republican members of Congress that continued to object the election results should be ashamed of themselves.

While the number of congressional Republicans who proceeded to object to the election is small, those who refused to stand up to Trump’s childish and dangerous rhetoric in the past four years hold responsibility for what occurred. New York Sen. Chuck Schumer was right to quote former President Franklin Roosevelt when describing the attack on the Capitol. Jan. 6, 2021 will forever be a day that lives in infamy.

Trump is no longer the president — he is a risk to national security. Rather than resign, his Cabinet members should be using their power along with Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment on the vile criminal that is in charge of our country. If they fail to do this, Congress should by all means impeach and remove this man from office. I know that there is not much time left until Inauguration Day, but if Republicans can run through a nominee to the Supreme Court, they can surely do the same with a necessary impeachment.

The picture I used for this post is one I took of the Capitol myself. I chose to use a picture of the Capitol at its best and not when it is under siege. We have seen the grotesque pictures enough, it is time we once again look at the Capitol Building as a symbol of American strength. 

I saw many posts all over social media of citizens saying that they could not think of a day in their lives when they were more disappointed to be Americans. I viewed these posts and was dismayed. On Wednesday, I could not be more proud to be an American. Because the fact of the matter is that these people who attacked Capitol hill can no longer be considered American. The real America was shown when our elected officials finished the Electoral College vote after the chaos died down.

I am proud of America because we showed that we will not be intimidated by thugs and vandals who choose violence when they lose an election. We will not be intimidated by a dictator who deems himself a “law and order” president and then proceeds to incite a siege on our country’s greatest sight. We will not be overtaken.

The title of this blog post is a question. It seems like this question is difficult to answer. However, it is quite simple. Where do we go from here?

Forward.

(To see the horrific scenes that occurred at the Capitol, click here)