Pay attention to the Jan. 6 hearings

I have been following the U.S. House special committee investigation on Jan. 6, 2021. As someone who has taken part in campaigns for both Republican and Democratic candidates this is not a political event. It is about supporting our constitution and defending our democracy. It is an opportunity for an educational moment for the American public.

If you watch a network that has neglected its responsibility to the American public to cover the hearings, I suggest that you change the channel and pay attention to what is being said. This is an important accounting of American history that even most Republicans agreed was necessary in the immediate aftermath of that horrible day. Some Republicans like Rep. Liz Cheney, have now put country over party, knowing the peril that we face. But far too many want to ignore the hearings, even the testimony given under oath by top advisers in former President Donald Trump`s administration and campaign.

To ignore these hearings is to ignore a threat to the most important part of a democratic republic — elected officials’ willingness to relinquish power when they have lost. If we no longer have that, then we no longer have a democracy. That is the threat we face. I hope we rise to face it head on, and it starts with working to understand what led to Jan. 6.

Dan Voss

Atkins

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