There have been many opinions, accusations, statements and editorials against Trump for being the hand behind the mob storming the Congress January 6th. Many have pointed out that we must impeach or remove (through the 25th amendment) Trump now or soon, otherwise it will get more difficult to do it later.
Here is another dimension to the issue: Right in the aftermath of the riot, citizens tend to support for punishment more. For example, a 500 online survey shows that “Over two-thirds (70%) oppose the Capitol protestors” and “(74%) say the protestors who broke into the Capitol should be arrested.” “Half of Americans (51%) see this event as an attempted coup, and fewer than a third (31%) believe these protests are necessary to protect America.” A quick note: Online surveys tend to have a limited reach, so this result should be taken with a grain of salt.
I prefer the vote for disqualification. Unlike impeachment, disqualification concerns about future and deprives Trump’s chance to run again in 2024. It is also simpler than impeachment, “may require only a simple majority to be approved, as opposed to the two-thirds vote necessary for removal from office.” For guys like Trump, killing the possibility to run in the future makes his life more miserable. Why? Because politics is addictive — much more so than running business — and once you are in it, quitting is a lot harder than you may think.
I came across this excellent piece today on the conservative argument to impeach Trump. It contains different perspective but same conclusion as the Dems.
But the best solution is neither impeachment nor disqualification, it is to lock him up or to be institutionalized. I know former FBI director Comey has argued not to prosecute Trump after he leaves office, and I would agree with him before. But this Capitol riot wakes me up and I now think it is to the best interest of this country to lock him up — for the simple reason that Trump can only add fuel to the wildfire because he has no ethical bottomline and, being a giant child, is uncapable of controlling himself or his big mouth. Impeachment or anything similar would not remove his freedom for spreading lies and adding fuel to the fire, now or in the future.
I was thinking of this yesterday after watching Trump video statement on the Capitol riot, off a script apparently written by his staff. It was quit a change of tone so un-Trump! How would his supporters and fans think of it? Then this report tells us the story. I believe now is the best time to prosecute Trump, because doing it now would incur the least social cost ever since he entered the White House, because his “human shield” behind which he is hiding is now thinner than ever! I am glad that the Justice department is open to pursuing charges against Trump in the Congress riot, it is really the time for the country to get rid of this mad man.
The Real Solution to Future Riots
I now come to the real points I want to make in this blog. This brief Capitol riot is a warning how far some of the Trump supporters are willing to go. I don’t mean to see everything as negative: Concerned and justice minded citizens are the best and most important resource for functioning democracy and for check and balance of government.
Still, when I was watching some of the video clips for what the rioters had to say, I kept thinking how we can turn public anger, frustration, distrust and energy into constructive forces.
My suggestion can be summarized in the following words: Tolerance, Dialogue, Diversify and Balance.
Tolerance: Now may seem an odd time to say this but I do believe both sides need to show tolerance of each other. Do not label words and actions too quickly and too harshly, unless they are clearly against the law. Showing empathy for each other is more powerful — but much harder — than showing anger and frustration. The key for empathy is to be prepared, and the way to be prepared is to think of the worst actions and harshest words from other side. You would then feel relieved and appreciated for not having encountered the worst.
Dialogue: Once baseline tolerance is installed, the next key is to initiate and to launch efficient and widely spread dialogues. It is important to bear in mind that most of the time people just want to someone to hear them out. This psychological demand should be satisfied because hearing them out in words costs much less than seeing them in violence like this time in Capitol on January 6th.
I would propose a nation-wide movement of dialogues through numerous townhall meetings in all localities where dialogue is necessary and feasible. Of course, with the pandemic we should do it online, and should have at least one moderator for each townhall, just like in the presidential debates during election campaigns. While the townhalls are attended by the local people, the moderator should be a volunteer from members of the domestic Peace Corps to ensure neutrality. The townhalls can be held periodically and repeatedly based on local demand, perhaps each meeting focusing on one issue that divides them.
Successful and effective townhalls will require the moderators to be well prepared: She or he should be briefed by both sides ahead of the meeting on their arguments and then try to find some common grounds among them. The mission, unsurprisingly, is to bring both sides nearer, definitely not to drive them further apart.
Being a volunteers in the Peace Corps should prove a beneficial or winning experience. Many volunteers may want to run public offices later because they have learned something others may never have, preparing them to be the best public servants.
Remember, when the society is deeply divided, those who can see and understand both sides become a scarce resource and will be appreciated much more than those who only see one side.
Diversify: Having diverse attention is one of the most effective ways to suppress the political wildfire the nation faces now. Politics is such a funny business that it is strictly for the public, but having everyone equally deeply involved in it may lower its efficiency. It is best to have a division of labor and get people do different things and leave politics to the politicians and professionals.
The economic approach for diversifying may prove the best. We want to get more people to be involved in economic or creative activities so they will shift attention to their own businesses rather than to public affairs on a daily basis.
In my theoretical paper on backlash, I talked about employment being the “social good” and unemployment the “social bad”. The pandemic has effectively put many people into the unemployed category, creating much time and energy for politics.
The best way to create jobs is not like the GOP old trick of cutting taxes for the rich and big, but let small business owners do it. When more blacks, whites, browns and yellows than now own and run their own businesses, like family farms or being employed in manufacturing jobs, we would expect very positive social consequences. Sometimes shifting attention away from hot social issues is the best way of solving them.
Balance: The next administration should condemn police brutality as much or as harsh as riots. This shows the society that everyone is treated equally and increases the credibility of the authority.