Jan. 6 wasn’t the end of a failed plot. It was a new salvo in an unfolding uprising

The events of Jan. 6 were not the evidence of a failed plot; they were one rallying point in an unfolding uprising. We still need to understand exactly what happened that day. But more important than such events is the attitudes that enabled them. At issue is the question of democratic legitimacy: Do citizens seek solutions to their problems outside the structures of democracy? This is what motivates people who believe they have found loopholes in the constitutional order that allow them to rule like a majority without winning a majority of support. This is what causes a sitting president to contemplate martial law when a democratic outcome defies his will. On Jan. 6, 2021, we saw what can happen when the protection of procedure is thrown aside by those who govern us. Since then, we have seen the appeal of undemocratic ideals only expand on the right. This has highlighted the most difficult, recurrent debates of U.S. history. Can a nation with so much regional diversity unite in common public purposes? And will the people remain loyal to democratic procedures against the appeal of political demagogues? Moving forward, Jan. 6 does not deserve special distinction — except to celebrate the courage and sacrifice of those who defended the Capitol against attack. It is one more day of a concerted, ongoing assault on democratic institutions. Defeating that assault will require Americans who rise to the defense of self-government with the same intensity as those who pursue victory in the culture wars. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/01/06/jan-6-assault-on-democracy-unfolding/