January 6 and the Case for Oblivion

[@ast453000]

That Americans have returned him to the White House is beyond anything. There are just no words for that level of insanity. That he was elected the first time was a sign of social decline. His re-election after Jan 6 is social collapse.

[@jamesbutler1831]

I am so ashamed of my country. I live in a rural area in a red state. Everyone I know voted for the felon. They were convinced that the Dems are all corrupt liars. We are living in an upside-down world.

[@Isammaig]

I disagree. We fumbled reconstruction after the Civil War. What could happen in 50-100 years if we completely ignore this?

[@cradio52]

Well that’s the whole key and root of America’s slow rot, isn’t it? One could argue that the American Civil War never truly ended chiefly because we completely fumbled reconstruction (AKA the key to ensuring a stable, peaceful ongoing union), so it just turned into a prolonged 150-year long Cold War. Yankees and Confederates alike simply passed down their beliefs & prejudices to their children and grandchildren, until the mid-20th century when things exploded once again with the civil rights era. We thought we got through that and succeeded in making progress as a nation, whereas the reality was much more nuanced and tenuous. The Germans got it right. We did not.

[@jamesbutler1831]

I'm more worried about the next 5-10 years if things don't turn around. I hate the direction our country is headed and feel helpless to do anything about it.

[@generybarczyk6993]

I understand your concern, but there is no possible way that we can say this will be ignored. "January sixth" has entered the lexicon, joining "nine-eleven" and "December seventh" as dates that will live in infamy It would take a more robust propaganda program than there is sufficient collective intelligence among the MAGA crowd to mount before we would ever forget January sixth. Nor does it have even the whisper of a chance of joining the honor roll that enshrines "the Fourth of July." Some Sixers may pretend, but there were those who decried the Fourth, as well. Best let it go. If nothing else, it removes fuel from the fire.

[@Isammaig]

@ I appreciate your assuaging, but there are a lot of dedicated people out there determined to rewrite history, akin to the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Lost Cause movement. With the immediacy and unmitigated reality of social media, anything can happen

[@generybarczyk6993]

@@Isammaig The Lost Cause myth makes my point. The only folks who ever bought it were Confederacy apologists and sympathizers, and they're probably still invested today. But it has no traction outside that core and whatever school boards they could influence. For that matter, the entire Confederacy was, in effect, pardoned. Granted, there were some initial strictures, and some of the unscrupulous who took advantage, but it certainly was nothing like the Treaty of Versailles, or even the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.. An entire rebellions population was granted full citizenship once their state constitutions came in line with the federal Constitution. The advantage is, a pardon is that it is only a relief from punishment, not a declaration of innocence. There are worse ways the Republican majority ib all three branches could handle this, including some fashion of total exoneration. Dwelling on January 6th is sucking on a sore tooth. It remains divisive. It needs to be pulled.

[@schnetzator]

As a german I can say that the problem with denazification was not that it was tried, but that it was not tried enough. It took decades until there was an honest conversation in our society about what happened, that a large portion was guilty of participating directly and indirectly but knowingly, and decades until we structured our society so that it may never happen again (though a lot has been tried through education and collective remembrance, it may still not have been enough). Had we never tried, Germany would be in deep sh.. right now. January 6th must be remembered for generations to come, and the participants must be remembered as guilty. Otherwise you won't learn from it.

[@kevinjenner9502]

Hard to believe the US supports the Nuremberg Principles…CIA Coups overthrowing the governments of Iran (1953) Guatemala (1954) Congo (1960) Dominican Republic (1961) S Vietnam (1963) Brazil (1964) Chile (1973)…the short list

[@kennethdubard9065]

So...The Atlantic is a right-wing outlet now? How about let the Jan6ers do their time. They did an insurrection. The comparisons you make are weak. This is the Overton window moving right, but with intellectual flourishes of Latin.

[@tnijoo5109]

What even is her argument for pardoning? She never said a single convincing thing.

[@TennesseeJed]

Never forget! The Tangerine Tyrant is a criminal.( that is a period after that sentence)

[@vooteimer1234]

Might as well be a bot

[@penguinista]

As if Biden should remove all accountability for attacking Congress. What is wrong with you?

[@coathang3r43]

Will need those who actively deny and rewrite J6 history to own up to it before it will be forgotten.

[@tomsenft7434]

Pardons have, possibly, been overused in the United States.

[@mamagee4632]

Where else is he gonna get his brown shirts if he doesn't release the J-6ers?

[@Noah-T-80]

He is a star, so we let him do it. 🤷‍♂️

[@lbr88x30]

🎯

[@jamesbutler1831]

Rule of law is dead in America. With help from Congress and the court system, he got away with everything.

[@andrewmathias1967]

Biden should have pardoned Donald Trump and the condition of that should have been that he'd never run for public office ever again.

[@tnijoo5109]

I wish I hadn’t wasted time listening to this. I subscribe to the Atlantic. I’m a Democrat. I was expecting so much more from this. Why was this so unintelligent? A real argument was never made. There was nothing compelling here at all. Pardoning draft-dodgers is very easy to understand. Other than that, there was no compelling argument made.

[@kirasussane1556]

I wish this episose had been longer. I think 30 minutes wasn't just simply not enough time to explain the complex ideas she was talking about. It certainly wasn't enough time to make her case. It feels like half of an podcast episode.

[@generybarczyk6993]

Oh, wow!. I had the sense of watching the transplanting of a full-grown tree, but this discussion changed my mind. My humble thanks. But still ... if I were Joe Biden, just before setting out for the Capitol steps on January 20, I'd pardon all but those convicted of aggravated assault or worse. And follow it with an immediate press release. And maybe add a pardon for Donald Trump. Oh, yeah, vengeance through mercy. How sweet it is.

[@vooteimer1234]

These Atlantic-talkers couldn't last 5 minutes with an intellectual. This vacuum-chamber gets sadder and sadder

[@TennesseeJed]

​@@vooteimer1234dear leader will be pleased with your sycophancy...a true cult following, absolutely

[@TennesseeJed]

@@vooteimer1234 dear leader will be very pleased with your sycophancy

[@TennesseeJed]

@@vooteimer1234 dear leader will be pleased with your sycophancy

[@TennesseeJed]

@@vooteimer1234 dear leader will be pleased with your sycophancy

[@TennesseeJed]

dear leader will be pleased with your sycophancy

[@tnijoo5109]

I wish I hadn’t wasted time listening to this. I subscribe to the Atlantic. I’m a Democrat. I was expecting so much more from this. Why was this so unintelligent? A real argument was never made. There was nothing compelling here at all. Pardoning draft-dodgers is very easy to understand. Other than that, there was no compelling argument made.