What it means to be the United States of America: A call for reflection

CARLY KABOT: In an unprecedented attack on American democracy, a violent mob of Trump supporters breached the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, forcing Congress to delay the presidential vote certification process. If another country had been attacked, America would have been quick to condemn the act for what it was: an attempted coup by domestic terrorists. Four years of undermining America’s institutions, spewing misinformation from the highest office and condoning white supremacy culminated in a failed struggle to destroy our fragile democracy. As we move forward from these dark days, we must commit ourselves to make our actions reflect our values. As of yesterday, we can no longer say ‘because we are the United States of America.’ Now we are tasked with rethinking what we want those once powerful words to mean. 

In 2016, world leaders knew the Trump presidency would wreak havoc on democratic norms, ideals and practices. During the Trump administration's early days, imagining how devastating these years would be was inconceivable for even his harshest critics. Yet, by yesterday— after weeks of desperately trying to overturn an election amidst a deadly pandemic— we should have been more prepared. His supporters ignore reason, fear facts and are intimidated by the truth. When his supporters continued to fly the Trump flag even after 61 failed election lawsuits, we should have known what these cowards were capable of. 

Statements from world leaders reveal that yesterday’s insurrection at the Capitol came with horror, but not shock. Over his presidency, Trump has strained relations with the international community, isolating America from the world stage. His 'America First' approach to foreign policy put us in dead last in the eyes of our most necessary allies. “This is what happens when you sow hatred,” wrote Stéphane Séjourné, a member of the European Parliament, on Twitter. Chancellor Merkel, always ready to call out Trump’s actions for what they are, said his refusal to accept the election outcome “made the events of last night possible.” The blame falls not only on Trump, but on the many Republican lawmakers who chose to perpetuate his lies, abandoning their responsibility to put service above self. They should be ashamed that they used their power to protect themselves when they had the ability to protect the heart of democracy.

Today, I think back to an article from the Washington Post on how the Western media would have covered the murder of George Floyd if it had happened in a foreign country. Long before the Trump presidency, America violated the human rights and basic freedoms the country professed to uphold. While the government meddled in affairs abroad, often at the expense of those they claimed to protect, hate and bigotry grew at home. Yet, because this is America, we were taught to believe that the threat always came from outside— as Americans, we are immune to the instability, chaos and violence our foreign policy played a role in creating across the globe. In ignoring the terrorists in our own backyard, this country allowed our greatest existential threat to expand silently, unrestrained and unchallenged. There is no scarier way for hate groups to grow. 

In 2019, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported over 1,000 active hate groups in the United States, most of them adhering to white supremacist ideology. This administration welcomed white nationalism, giving rise to a 55% jump in hate groups during the Trump era. President Trump continued to push the false narrative that extremists came from the countries targeted by the Muslim Ban, all while denying his hand in nurturing terrorists at home. “I’m waiting for the USA to invade the USA so they can ‘re-establish democracy,’” tweeted  Brazilian political commentator Felipe Neto. The U.S. has gone to great lengths to protect democracy abroad— even when such efforts were unjust, unnecessary and unsuccessful. We created the standards, and we have failed both our country and the free world. After four years of embracing authoritarian rulers, Trump has given them a reason to celebrate. Our allies must hold us accountable for acting according to the standards we set as the most powerful democracy, the global superpower that set the rules because we could. In an article for the Washington Post on American exceptionalism, Johann N. Neem writes, “Now is the time to accept the reality that we are part of the world and its history, not exceptions to it.”

There comes a time, in all of our lives, when we realize America is not everything we believed in as children.  For me, that moment was watching Trump call white supremacists “very fine people” after the 2017 ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville. Sitting beside my grandfather, listening to what I thought was impossible in 21st century America, I grew up. Taking off the rose-colored glasses I wore for too long, I witnessed the face of hate. Since that day, nothing the Trump administration has done or incited has been unthinkable. Revolting, disappointing, frustrating. 

Unspeakable, not unthinkable. 

This is the America we live in. Yesterday, we experienced evil in action. But make no mistake, that evil has always been there— and will continue to intensify until it swallows the good. 

Let us vow to make this the closest evil will ever get. 

Last night, Van Jones asked, “"Is this the end of something or the beginning of something?” The damage of last night is permanent. America can never again claim to be an untouchable democracy and our vulnerability has been exposed by nobody other than our own citizens. There is anger in this country, and there is a deep fear of its potential to destabilize and destroy. In 2016, we were led to the edge of an abyss. Last night, we looked over that edge. I don’t have to write what happens next. 

But watching our lawmakers return to “finish the business of the people,” I have hope that this is the beginning of something— of a better America, the one we were taught to believe in. Watching Congress certify Biden’s victory only hours after the Capitol attack, I felt what ‘because we are the United States of America’ could one day mean. While 147 Republican lawmakers still objected to the election results, the few that withdrew their objections give me hope. Honestly, I don't know what I expected to happen last night. At some point, I braced for the worst. After all, that’s what this presidency has been— one bad outcome after another. Yet, lawmakers returned determined to finish what these insurrectionists had tried to derail. 

I shouldn’t speak too soon, but the fact that democracy prevailed that very same night makes me think there is still something special about America. We are going to have to put in a lot of work to prove it to the rest of the world— but more importantly, to ourselves. 

Carly Kabot is an executive editor for On the Record. She is a sophomore studying International Politics and Religion, Ethics, and World Affairs in the School of Foreign Service.