A Matter of Faith
By Albert B. Kelly
I’ve been thinking a lot about the whole Watergate affair on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the break-in, which occurred in June of 1972. As for why, maybe it’s because I’ve also been thinking a lot about the siege on the steps and in the halls of Capital building that occurred in January of 2021. Both Watergate and the siege speak to something deeper as we approach the July 4th holiday,
Thinking back, the center held in 1974 when President Richard Nixon lied to his staff and to the American people about the crime and the attempted cover-up. Whatever it was institutionally that needed to work in that season did in fact work. Setting aside the details of Watergate, by late 1973 the thing boiled down to one question and that was whether or not the President was above the law. The answer that came back from all corners of our democracy was a loud NO, he was not above the law.
Fast forward to January 2021 and the days that followed. It could be argued that the center held and the system worked, but the truth is that it barely worked. For me, this is not a cause for celebration but an occasion to be humble because what we saw last year with the siege of the Capital was just how incredibly fragile our democracy is these days.
Historically, what allowed this country to exist and survive is faith, not necessarily faith in the religious sense, i.e., the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, but faith in the rule of law. This secular faith in the rule of law as set forth in the constitution is what binds us together, what connects us with past generations and what Lincoln termed in his first inaugural "The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land…”
But in terms of what we saw last year on the steps of the Capital and in the halls of those chambers, in terms of the violence done to the body and soul of the nation, I’m not so sure we can go through that again and survive. Lincoln referred to “the better angels of our nature” but it is a safe bet that we won’t find those better angels if we continue to do such violence to our democracy.
For those last year who stormed the Capital and sought to defile the temple and for the others who would have forcibly dragged one legislator or another, perhaps even the Vice President, out into the parking lot for a public hanging, the thing they can’t tell us now, the thing they couldn’t tell us back in January of 2021, is what comes next.
The violence that was done, not just that day but in the days and months leading up to January 6th was basically the equivalent of putting a gun up to the head of the nation and demanding that we choose. The choice was similar to the one facing the American people 50 years ago during Watergate and that choice was either ignore the crimes committed by the President and his “plumbers” along with the cover up or renew their faith in the rule of law and let our institutions do what they must. Let justice be served.
In the Watergate era of 1972 through 1974, Americans chose the rule of law and because they did, we survived a Constitutional crisis back then and many would argue that we were stronger and better for having done so. Had Americans chose to ignore Nixon’s crimes and the cover-up, who knows if the center holds or if we keep the faith or if our democracy remains intact?
And that’s the thing about today. It’s easy to be angry and bitter and dissatisfied with the system or with the institutions of our democracy and its symbols. Anyone can adopt the stance of the alienated and fancy themselves as outsiders storming the castle because truth be told, that’s the easy part. The hard part is figuring out what comes next. Independence Day should remind us that until we’re presented with something better than anger and violence, our faith must of necessity remain in the rule of law and in the institutions of our democracy. Happy Birthday America.