If not you– then who will protect our society?
Reflecting on Jan 6th & hope for our society a year later
Good morning & Happy New Year bread friends.
Just before the holiday, I scheduled a meeting on my calendar for the first Thursday in January, which happens to be January 6th. As I scheduled this meeting I had a sudden rush of emotions as I realized we’re approaching the one-year anniversary of the attack on the US Capitol by American treasonists.
This Bread & Justice community has grown substantially in the past year, but long-time readers will know that I wrote about that attack a few days later.
In my reflection at that time, I had three ideas that stood out to me.
The first was clearly understanding that this was an assault on our democracy by a mob of traitors. There seemed to be some timidity at the time to name the thing that we had all clearly watched with our own eyes. However, as scores of articles are being written this week reflecting on these events, even Fox News can now be found calling it an assault on our democracy.
The second idea that stood out to me was an observation that the law enforcement presence seemed notably reserved both in tactic and in numbers. I just recently listened to an interview with the commanding officer (who happens to be a black man) that was in charge of the D.C. National Guard that day. In this interview, he shared a detailed account of how he prepared his guardsmen to deploy across the city and at the Capitol, and how/why he never got the chance to deploy them. While the answer may not ultimately be surprising, his perspective was incredibly insightful and somewhat encouraging.
The third sentiment that I shared came at the very end of my newsletter where I said: “And in times like these where society seems particularly dark… please keep finding ways to be an agent of hope in your own sphere of influence. We owe it to the next generation (and ourselves) to not give up on the idea that our society can continue to get better, safer, healthier, more just, and more kind.”
Today, I’d like to stay on this topic of the state of our society for a bit. I don’t think it is just me that feels like our society is growing weaker and more fractured. Beyond the attacks a year ago, there are a lot of obvious cracks in the foundation of our society:
Sadness & anxiety are the most common emotions Americans are experiencing lately.
Wealth inequality continues to grow in our country and relative to the world
When I reflect on the gravity of these issues, I often feel sad. I feel helpless about how large and complicated all of these challenges feel. But as I sat here thinking about what I wanted to say to you all this morning… a short story from my childhood came to mind. You may have heard this little tale about responsibility:
This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have.
I haven’t explicitly thought about this little story in over 20 years, but I can’t think of a better time to be an Anybody. If you have hope that our society should be better, more harmonious, and more just – then let's resolve to take some action to make it so.
This month Bread & Justice will be donating our profits to the Brennan Center for Justice. The Brennan Center works to reform and defend our country’s systems of democracy and justice. In addition to shining a helpful spotlight on PACs that supported Jan 6th & the election officials that have since been under attack… they have a long history of working to make elections fair, end mass incarceration, and preserve our liberties.
And with 2022 being an election year, supporting those who are working to defend our democracy and preserve our liberties feels important.
As we approach the anniversary of January 6th, the large cracks in Government seem to stand out for their failures to protect us. But I keep thinking about the many other small cracks in our society’s foundation that were ignored and somehow contributed to us getting to a point where we would see citizens turn on each other in this way.
So this week, I’m going to be on the lookout for opportunities where I can repair some small cracks in the little ways that I can. We all have a small amount of influence over large groups of people… but perhaps more interestingly, we also have a large degree of influence over a small number of people. When it comes to fixing cracks, I recommend starting with the small group that you can have outsized influence with. If you are actively involved in your local school, your church, or a local nonprofit… I’d bet you have seen some cracks in a way that no one else quite sees. The same goes for our families, and friend groups. I know I’ve seen damage in relationships and chose to ignore it rather than address it. But I am going to be part of the solution this week, and this year. If Everybody takes a little initiative to make note of cracks and attempt to fix some cracks in our society, I firmly believe we can begin to mend our broken society.
And with that… for anyone who would like to pre-order bread for pickup this Thursday the 6th… the website has loaves available for you.
Cheers,
Mo Cheeks