Death of a Centrist

One year ago today, our capital city, our country, our values, and my family were attacked by a violent mob of domestic terrorists. A police officer was beaten to death on the steps of the Capitol. Bullets were fired through its doors. “Murder the press” was scrawled on its walls. Five people died. Our elected officials, Capitol staff, and journalists barricaded themselves in offices and feared for their lives. Many officers who defended the Capitol that day were injured. Four committed suicide in the following weeks.

The overwhelming majority of the Republican party has spent the last year doing everything in its power to spare those responsible for the attack from investigation and accountability. They have made the lie that the 2020 election was stolen a litmus test for party membership. They have passed hundreds of laws across the country to limit access to ballot boxes and allow state officials to overturn free and fair elections. They have worked to turn a literal assault on the seat of our democracy into law.

Before 2016, I spent most of my adult life as a centrist. I argued often with my conservative family and liberal friends that the major political parties in America have the same goals: a safe, free, equitable, and prosperous nation. I thought most political debates boiled down to differing but equally valid perspectives on how to achieve these goals. I thought that with enough compromise, charity, and goodwill we could meet the tough challenges we face.

No more. One party in America is actively working to damage our democracy. This is to say nothing of other grave threats we face that they are hell-bent on doing nothing about: like climate change, systemic racism, and vaccine resistance. Most Americans agree on how to face these challenges, but our government’s formulation overrepresents a conservative minority’s will. The only way forward is for Republicans to lose power.

I realize I am shouting into the void here, but I can’t help it. In this moment, it’s cathartic. I plan to be out canvassing again this Fall, and do everything I can in the future to help elect folks who want to preserve and expand our democracy. I hope you will too.