Some of those who invaded the Capitol claim they were taking a page from the book of the patriots of 1776.  They were the Sons of Liberty resurrected, doing nothing more than our vaunted ancestors did when they lit the spark for our Revolution.  Others find that laughable, and categorize the people who attacked police and entered the Capitol on Jan. 6 as deluded, misguided– dare we say “deplorable”–criminals. The true patriots, they would say, were the members of Congress, doing the work of the People in the face of an insurrection.

            Though the temptation is great to wave off the Trumpists’ comparison with 1776, let’s not be too hasty.  They make some excellent points.   In 1776 the Sons of Liberty were a grassroots group who were angry with the government (the king, his council, and Parliament) that was foisting rules, regulations, and taxes on them.   Faced with a hostile government, they took to the streets and their protests turned into violent acts like throwing tea chests into the harbor and tarring and feathering opponents they didn’t like.  In Boston they dressed up like Indians to do their dirty work—remind you of the guy in the Viking headdress?

            Their brethren of 2021 see themselves in the same light.  They say their voices have been blocked by a tyrannical government that rigged an election, leaving them no option but to take to the streets.  They equate Congress with Parliament in denying them representation in governing themselves, with Nancy Pelosi as the new George III.  It’s exactly for this reason that the Second Amendment is in the Bill of Rights, they would say, so the average guy can be part of a militia to defend himself against bad government, and they would be right about that. Our Founding Fathers were very worried about government overreach.

            But they’re wrong about the most important part of this.  The 1776ers actually had no voice in the government, but in 2020 there was an election.  Their claim to be patriots defending the country depends on their proof that some dirty work at the crossroads kept their votes from counting.   All 61 of the court challenges to the election faltered for lack of evidence and these would-be patriots were left with only the hot air of Trump and Giuliani to float their balloon.  

If any of them are reading this I hope you now realize that there is no conspiracy to deprive you of your votes, but if you’re not, you still have a chance to prove your case.   As we learned from the 2000 election, even though a victor has been declared, it doesn’t have to end there.  As the newsmedia did in 2001, what you should do is gather all your evidence and lay it out for all to see in the courtroom of public opinion, but just make sure it’s not innuendo, or unsubstantiated claims like “everyone knows that….” or “people saw things that….” which are worthless. That’s what McCarthy did in the 50s and what Giuliani and Trump are doing now. Also make sure that you get it into the mainstream media.  Lay it all out and if you’re right, we’ll all know it. 

So much of the unrest in the world right now comes down to who won an election and who cheated:  Venezuela, Belorus, Uganda, CAR, on and on into darkness and death.  The proof of a fraudulent election can’t be, “I know it’s rigged because I lost.”  It all comes back to what I wrote earlier: we need better, more transparent ways to hold a vote and more grace in losing.  It doesn’t have to be this hard!