When will we make January 6 a day of remembrance?

Washington DC looked so beautiful this morning, covered in its first snowfall of 2025. It was almost as if the destinies were trying to whitewash January 6 four years ago, that bloody and abominable crime against democracy that shattered windows and doors, he said . Five lives and more than 150 people injured. If any of the survivors took today’s beautiful snow as a positive omen, I appreciate it. But in general I don’t appreciate whitewashing.

Today I found myself thinking about how every 9/11 for about 20 years, NBC News, and then MSNBC, aired their own coverage of that day, for many hours, beginning when the hard-hitting Today Show first broke news of this unthinkable attack. and proceeding through the gory details. Please don’t think I’m mixing up the tragedies. Many more people died on 9/11; So many buildings destroyed, not just damaged. The only thing that provokes comparison is that 9/11 was committed by foreign enemies of the United States. We were attacked by our own people on January 6, 2021. And they were cheered by their president. And there were some ugly scenes that should be preserved.

So couldn’t we have an hour showing when things got scarier four years ago today? I’m not even sure when that would have been. For me it was when I found out my daughter was trapped in a House office building. But there were much more dramatic moments, bloodier moments, police officers beaten and poor Ashli ​​Babbitt shot to death.

In a better country we would have a national commemoration. In this country we pretend that everything was a misunderstanding.

Don’t get me wrong. The results of the 2024 elections were clear. (As was 2020.) It’s not a mandate, it’s not a landslide victory. But a victory. So Vice President Kamala Harris did the right thing.

“The peaceful transfer of power is one of the most fundamental principles of American democracy,” he declared. “As much as any other principle, it is what distinguishes our system of government from monarchy or tyranny.”

And well, I loved hearing her call her “Madam President”, a formality, for the report of the electoral college of each state.

We knew that Kamala would be very attentive, very demure, and would certify Trump’s victory. I felt like it was my job to see her stand up and do her job, while I guess President Mike Johnson had the right to sit down. Whatever. He knew what his job was and he did it.

Always with grace, not always with joy. I noticed that when the Texas Republican Party jumped up and cheered loudly, she didn’t smile. But he rarely smiled at his own votes, while Mike Johnson laughed and applauded the GOP’s victories. But he did applaud when Trump crossed the line.

But it hurt. You know, you always have the woman doing the work, not getting the credit. I know, men have done this before. But after losing to this gargoyle, seeing her happy and doing her job. It hurt me. That’s all.

And we will soon see the likelihood that 1,600 January 6 criminals, many of them violent, will be pardoned.

I was glad that the Vice President was able to swear in Rep. Lateefah Simon. She was one of Harris’ apprentices. She will take the seat of our beloved Barbara Lee. We will continue.

Joan Walsh

Joan Walsh, national affairs correspondent The Nationis co-producer of The sit-in: Harry Belafonte hosts tonight’s show and the author of What’s wrong with white people? Finding our way in the next America. His new book (with Nick Hanauer and Donald Cohen) is Corporate Nonsense: Exposing the Lies and Half-Truths That Protect Profits, Power, and Wealth in America.

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