January 6, 2022 – RubicOnline with the Rubicon Online staff

Could there be a next time?

I remember Jan. 6 clearly. I was attending distance learning English class in the back conference room of my parent’s office, and I could hear my dad turning on the news. At first, I was confused. My dad usually reads the news. He never turns on the live stream at work. At this point, I wasn’t concerned with class. Our teacher’s expectations seemed insignificant compared to the words coming from the other room. I went to the New York Times first. I didn’t know what my dad was watching, but it had to be serious. I spent the rest of the class listening to my teacher in one ear, the news broadcast from the other room in the other, and staring at the photos on the front page of The New York Times.

A year later, the situation still frustrates me. It frustrates me that what happened that day wasn’t taken more seriously. I understand that the investigation is ongoing, but it seems like not much has happened in response to the insurrection. Seven hundred people have been arrested, but who’s responsible for their organization and motivation? Will former President Donald Trump incite another insurrection if he doesn’t win the 2024 election? The United States is a country that prides itself on its democracy. Why, then, when our political system is threatened, is it okay? What stops the capital insurrection from happening again or from being more successful?