J6 Is the New 9/11

 the beginning of this century, there were many critics of the Iraq War, the Patriot Act, the American use of torture, and the prolonged U.S. occupation of Afghanistan, but War on Terror proponents always had a ready answer: 9/11, the deadliest terrorist attack ever on American soil.

The American response to that fateful day was an unapologetic carte blanche, with Vice President Dick Cheney even vowing that the U.S. would work on the “dark side” henceforth. The rules had changed. So would morality.

If the Bush-Cheney administration had to build a case for war on false premises, encroach upon civil liberties, or go around the Geneva Convention, warhawks had their justification. If democratic norms, constitutional rights, and international treaties were going to be undermined—and they were—who were you to question what America did after 9/11?

For many, particularly Republicans, this was sound reasoning. For many, no doubt, it still is. And for many Democrats, J6 is the new 9/11.

On January 6, 2021, protesters rioted in and around the U.S. Capitol, many believing that the 2020 presidential election won by Joe Biden had been stolen from Donald Trump. Five were left dead (one shot by Capitol police, one drug overdose, three of natural causes) and many were injured, including police officers, four of whom would later commit suicide.

While most of the country was rightly horrified by the scenes and events in Washington that day, in the months and years since, there have been different interpretations, particularly along party lines, of what actually went down on that dreadful day.