Viscosity may seem like an odd word choice to begin a column about the second anniversary of the deadly assault by right-wing extremists on the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021.
The point is that many power brokers battling for control of American minds these days think people are dumb. They think most people read at about a fifth grade level and can’t grasp complex concepts.
It wasn’t always this way. There was a time when advertisers would use big, multisyllabic words to explain products to consumers. They would achieve this in 30 seconds, like in a 1994 TV commercial for Castrol GTX motor oil.
“As your engine revs higher the oil inside creates a hydrodynamic wedge, a protective layer that builds up and keeps engine parts separated,” the announcer said.
“But as your oil’s viscosity breaks down, so can the wedge,” he warned. “That’s why Castrol GTX provides maximum protection against viscosity and thermal breakdown. Because if your viscosity breaks down, what’s next?”
Helpful visual aids showed engine parts locking up. It’s not that hard to understand. As oil heats up, it gets thinner and offers less protection. The same is true when cooking oil thins after you pour it into a pan and turn up the heat.
TV viewers had no trouble understanding the meaning of a big word like viscosity or the concept of heat diminishing the level of motor oil protection. The human brain has amazing capabilities to learn.
Nowadays, it seems the powers that be treat Americans like we’re too dumb to connect dots and solve problems. A popular theory circulating on the internet is that Chinese owners of TikTok are deliberately trying to make Americans more stupid.
In China, the theory goes, TikTok promotes videos showing young people solving complicated math and science problems. In America, TikTok promotes videos showing young people eating Tide Pod laundry detergent cubes and doing other stupid things.
How did it get this way? When I was a kid I would waste time watching cartoons on Saturday mornings. Adults who ran TV networks would sneak in educational programming, like the Schoolhouse Rock! series that included such memorable lessons as “I’m Just a Bill” and “The Preamble.”
I felt as a kid in 1970 I had a better understanding of how U.S. government works than many adults do today. Apparently, many believe civics is too complicated to explain to people who aren’t nuclear scientists or brain surgeons.
For those who did not read the 845-page “Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol,” I’ll try to break it down in plain English.
Joe Biden beat Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election by about 7 million votes. The popular vote didn’t matter that much, though. What mattered more was the Electoral College vote, which Biden won 306 to 232. Biden flipped key states that Trump won in 2016, including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Trump is a liar and a narcissist. He didn’t want to be branded a loser so he made up a tale that massive vote fraud caused him to lose the election. His supporters filed more than 60 lawsuits but could produce no evidence of widespread vote fraud that could have changed the outcome of the election.
A lot of people believed his lie, just as many believed his lie that Barack Obama was not born in the United States and thus was not an American citizen who could legitimately be president. Obama was born in Hawaii.
Trump supporters came up with a cockamamie scheme that was like a Hail Mary pass in a last-ditch effort to keep Trump in power. They devised a legal theory that electors from swing states could be disputed. Republicans in several states designated alternate slates of electors who had no legitimate authority whatsoever.
Then Trump supporters thought Vice President Mike Pence could simply reject legitimate electors and say, “You know what, Biden won Arizona but I’m going to give it to Trump because lots of people are saying there was fraud.” Pence had no authority to do such a thing and refused to go along with the scheme.
More Top Picks Brother St371hd
Meanwhile, many Republican members of the House and Senate got wind of the plan and believed they could stop the transfer of power if enough of them objected to the legitimate Electoral College certifications from various states.
Six senators and 121 House members voted to reject Electoral College results for Arizona, and seven senators and 138 House members voted to reject results for Pennsylvania. They were outnumbered in each instance, so the actual, legitimate results were counted and Biden became president.
In the weeks leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, right-wing extremists from all over the country made plans to gather in Washington, D.C. on the day of the ceremonial counting of Electoral College votes. Many of them brought weapons and came prepared to violently engage police officers, who risked their lives to defend the Capitol.
After Trump gave a speech, a crowd of thousands marched to the Capitol as the Electoral College votes were being counted. The mob breached defenses and gained entry to the Capitol. Nearly 1,000 were arrested, and hundreds have been tried, convicted and sentenced for serious crimes.
Trump’s goal was to create chaos and stop the counting of Electoral College votes. He knew his presidency was effectively over once the certified Electoral College results were counted. For a time, the violent mob succeeded in disrupting the counting of votes, giving Trump false hope that he could somehow cling to power.
Counting of Electoral College votes had to be suspended while rioters overran the Capitol. Eventually the mob was cleared out and counting resumed. The peaceful transfer of power took place and democracy was preserved.
Since then, the right has tried to downplay Jan. 6 with a bunch of whataboutisms. The assault on the Capitol was a routine tourist visit that got out of hand, some said, while others said anti-fascists cleverly disguised themselves as Trump supporters.
Some Trump apologists said the assault on the Capitol was no different from rioters who looted stores after a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd in 2020. Many remain reluctant to admit the truth and accept consequences for the attack on American democracy.
The assault on the Capitol was a violent part of a failed plot to illegally keep Trump in power. It can be a difficult notion to grasp, but it is true.
The date shall always be among the most somber anniversaries in American history, like when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, or when terrorists brought down the World Trade Center towers and attacked the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
Truth seekers will always outnumber extremists who refuse to accept accountability for their roles in perpetuating lies and myths about the assault on the U.S. Capitol.
Perhaps in 2023, authorities will hold Trump accountable for his role in failed attempts to illegally remain in power. Maybe then Trump’s supporters will accept the truth about what happened and understand why Jan. 6, 2021, was such an extraordinary, historic date.
Ted Slowik is a columnist for the Daily Southtown.