Guest Post: Unity

By: Rick Rubio

President Joe Biden called for unity above all else in his inaugural address to the country and the world on January 20, 2021. I agree with him that unity should be our primary goal if we stand any chance of moving forward together as a nation, but after he delivered that address, I immediately saw what the most ardent of Trump supporters believe he meant. They believe that, in the name of unity, I should acknowledge that Donald Trump never really got his day in court and that, although Joe Biden was inaugurated as our 46th President, I should somehow accept that his presidency isn’t fully legitimate because questions remain. They believe that, in the name of unity, I should somehow sweep the January 6th insurrection under the rug and just chalk it up to the frustrations of people who truly felt disenfranchised. And despite the fact that Donald Trump was impeached as a result of his role in promulgating the disinformation that led to that insurrection, they believe that, in the name of unity, his impeachment shouldn’t be considered by the Senate. They further believe, in the name of unity, that I should accept the continuation of white supremacy in our country, or at least accept the fact that they have chosen to tolerate it. In short, they believe that, in the name of unity, it’s up me to walk all the way over to where they are and meet them there. But that’s not how it works, and now I’ll speak directly to them.

Here’s the best that I can do for you. I understand that you feel that the election was stolen from you. You were told that there were mountains of evidence that would show that thousands of fake ballots were delivered under cover of night and that voting machines were somehow manipulated to deliver Trump votes to Biden. You were told that there was no way that Congress could certify the electoral counts because those mountains of evidence were still out there and Rudy Giuliani just had to find the right court in which to present them. And you were told that, if all else failed, Mike Pence held all the electoral cards and he could just send the results back to the states while it all got sorted out to deliver a victory for Trump. You were told that the people who attacked the Capitol acted under their First Amendment rights and that things just got out of control because some people had planned something much more nefarious ahead of time. You were told that the President’s calls to fight, to not be weak, to take back your country, and to challenge the Congress and Mike Pence while they performed their constitutional duty were not calls for that violent insurrection. You were told that white supremacists have inalienable rights to believe as they do, and that as long as they don’t violently act out on those beliefs, you need not worry because they, in fact, were not acting out on those views. You were told that it’s okay for them to carry or wear whatever they want, whether it be a Confederate battle flag, a Nazi banner, a firearm, or a t-shirt inscribed with Camp Auschwitz or 6MWE (Six Million Weren’t Enough) because, among them, there were very fine people and you, in fact, are one of those very fine people. But I have news for you. The election wasn’t stolen. There were, as there are in all elections, minor irregularities that had absolutely no effect on the outcome. Those, accompanied by other complete fabrications, led you to believe otherwise. The attack on the Capitol, planned or otherwise, was indeed a seditious insurrection, encouraged and incited by the former President. It is totally appropriate that he should be held accountable for his role in it. And the last one is the easiest of all. Very fine people don’t stand next to Nazis and white supremacists, anywhere or at any time, virtually or physically. It’s that simple. And the answer to how we move forward is even simpler still, because all three of those circumstances have the exact same root cause. So here’s what you do: call me, text me, message me on social media, or walk up to me and say, “I now realize and accept that Donald Trump lied to me.” Then we can talk. And move forward. And heal. In unity.