Let’s take a trip back in time. The date is Jan. 6, 2021, and the Senate hearing to count the Electoral College votes is taking place in the United States Capitol building. The hearing is an important one since it is being held amidst accusations by President Donald Trump that the 2020 election was fraudulent. Nonetheless, the hearing should have marked the beginning of a peaceful transition of power to then-President-elect Joe Biden. Throughout the nearly 250 years of our country’s existence, a peaceful transition of power has been not only a principle American value but fundamental to American democracy. Then, an estimated 2,000 rioters enter the Capitol with the intent to stop the proceedings through any means necessary. 

This riot that took place Jan. 6, 2021 was a moment in American history in which the whole country was watching. It was an attack on American democracy that, for a moment, both sides could rally against. 

Flash forward to Jan. 21, 2025: Trump’s first day in office, he issued nearly 1,600 pardons to the rioters at the Capitol Jan. 6, 2021. This riot against the peaceful transition of power is deserving of punishment, yet we seem to be turning a blind eye. What kind of nation have we become? Trump’s pardons have not only shed light on the disaster that party-centric polarization has created, but are also a true indicator that this country is not as great as some of the leaders in American politics want us to believe. 

Again, how did we get here? 

The Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol has been labeled as an insurrection, defined as an act of revolting against an established government. As Americans, we should be ashamed to have elected a president who believes that individuals who attempt to revolt against our democracy are deserving of a pardon. We should be ashamed that the attack has become politicized and that people argue whether it was an act of protest or a riot. This is not just a political issue, but an American one. We need to recognize that this moment is not one in which we can have differing opinions based on political alignment. No party line separates a moral wrongdoing such as the Jan. 6 riot. 

This moral argument is a tricky one. Moral arguments do not typically have a place in the law, but sometimes, the law is not moral. Legally, Trump has the power to pardon whomever he wishes, and he wishes to pardon Jan. 6 insurrectionists. However, the message that this legal act sends is one of moral consequence. Trump has demonstrated that he can and will protect those who stand with him, no matter the consequences of their aggressive and criminal actions. 

The lack of reaction from Republicans compared to the strong negative response that they had to the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 is absurd. 

For context, since some politicians have trouble with definitions, a protest can be defined as “dissent to something that those affected are powerless to prevent or avoid.” This is vastly different from creating an insurrection in our nation’s capital, which was not a protest but a tantrum. 

Luckily, not all of those pardoned by Trump have accepted his action. Pamela Hemphill was a Jan. 6 rioter who pleaded guilty to her charges and refused the pardon that Trump granted her. Hemphill describes it plain and simple: “I plead guilty because I was guilty.” She explains how accepting a pardon would instill the false narrative that some conservatives have tried to convey. This false narrative that the Jan. 6 riot was a peaceful protest and did not warrant criminal conviction is a narrative that should not be told. Hemphill portrays that there is still some hope left in America. This hope is that we can learn from our mistakes, no matter how large and bring clarity to our perspectives. 

Hemphill may provide you with some hope, and she should. She is a start. Still, this was one individual out of hundreds. 

So what is the answer? What has the United States become? It is not a political question, it is not a question of right or wrong and it is not a question of party. 

The answer to all of these questions is that this is not the United States at all. This is not what we stand for and these are not the values that we hold in our hearts and our constitution. You may not think you are patriotic, but this is the time to fight for what we stand for as citizens of a country that we can only hope will actually be great again someday. Unfortunately, we are far from that great United States of America today.

What we are witnessing as Americans is an era of American politics in which those who break the law in a truly horrific and upsetting way are considered proud Americans, and immigrants who are hoping for a better life are considered criminals. If you think that this is the time to stop paying attention to politics because your party did not win, you are gravely mistaken. If we do not continue to inform ourselves about these matters, we will allow this new era to become the United States’ identity and we cannot afford to let that happen. 

Ava Vitiello is a second-year political science major and columnist for The News. She can be reached at [email protected].