Remember January 6
Teach your children
We remember Pearl Harbor. And D-Day. And 9/11. We even remember the Alamo. Why don’t we remember January 6?
Remember, remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder, treason, and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
To this day, the British, who have long memories, always set off fireworks on the anniversary of their Treason Day. November 5th, 1605. More than four hundred years ago Guy Fawkes and his murderous gang tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament, the King, and all the members of the government. And the Brits are not gonna forget it in a hurry.
But we ignore our most important national day, even though it happened only five years ago.
Somehow, we’ve forgotten that on January 6, a mob stormed through the halls of our Capitol. We’ve forgotten the nooses and zip-ties they carried. Forgotten the nutty guy with the horns and the facepaint howling in the halls of Congress. Forgotten the chants about killing the Vice President, and the rioters hunting for the Speaker of the House, screaming “hang that f***ing b*tch.”
We’ve forgotten the police officers brutalized, crushed in doorways and assaulted with bear spray. We’ve forgotten the 140 police officers injured in the attack. Four officers who responded to the attack died by suicide within seven months.
Maybe we’re forgetting because it seems so unreal. Science fiction crazy, like a mediocre movie watched sleepily on late-night TV. We’ve all seen the White House virtually blown up by aliens and terrorists so many times, it hardly seems shocking to see smoke and tear gas billowing from the Capitol.
But it was real. It really happened. It was a crime, in spite of MAGA trying to spin it as patriots peacefully protesting. In spite of Oklahoma school officials trying to teach students that the rioters were justified because the 2020 election was stolen.
Last March, the Oklahoma State Board of Education announced that it was adopting new social studies standards that require teachers to have high school students “identify discrepancies in 2020 election results by looking at graphs and other information,” examine “security risks of mail-in balloting,” “batch dumps of ballots,” and the “halting of ballot-counting in select cities.” Teachers are directed to teach that the election had an “unforeseen record number of voters.” (Oklahoma, by the way, ranks approximately 49th in education.)
Happily, in December the Oklahoma Supreme Court put the brakes on the new standards—not because they perpetuate a brazen, flat-out lie, but because the school board hadn’t gone through the appropriate review process, trying to sneak the changes in at the last minute. The court ruled that the standards were invalid because the public had not had sufficient advance notice of the changes. So for now they’re on hold.
This outrage got very little attention in the press, or social media. The doings of a state school board are never going to get headlines like Venezuela or the Epstein Files. But the issue has not gone away. I suspect that the Trump enablers on the Oklahoma School Board are just getting started.
But there’s some good news, too. The New York State Legislature is considering a bill requiring that January 6 be taught in schools. So how is this different from Oklahoma’s requirement? New York State’s proposed law “requires instruction on the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. capitol and its aftermath in all schools in the state.”
Insurrection. Merriam-Webster defines “insurrection” as “an act of revolting against civil authority or an established government.” That’s what it was, that’s the truth. No peacefully protesting patriots here, no lies about election fraud. Let’s remember that for the next four hundred years.
While we’re waiting for all fifty states to enact a similar law, let’s remind people of what happened on that cold January day five years ago. How close we came to losing our country. Post about it on social media. Write about it. Talk about it. Like Camelot, you know? I always get a little teary at that wonderfully schmaltzy ending: Ask every person if they’ve heard the story and tell it strong and clear if they have not…
And celebrate the day. We don’t have a lot to celebrate these days, let’s savor what we can. January 6th should be a day of fireworks, and bands playing, and parades. It should be a national holiday, with banks and schools closed and the streets decorated with flags.
Because it was a good day after all. Treason was overthrown, the election was certified, Biden took office. As we stare nervously into the void of 2026, it’s good to pause and remember a day when reason and sanity prevailed, when law and order won. A day when our country showed its best side as well as its worst.
Dear Friends,
Are you furious about the state of the world and wondering what to do about it? I hope you’ll continue to check out The Optimistic Activist.
Every now and then I post some ideas for doing something. How to get out the vote, spread the word, and support progressive candidates. Ideas for simple but effective activism. As easy, as practical, as do-able as I can make them.
Together, I think, we can really make a difference.
“Optimism is a strategy for making a better future.”
--Noam Chomsky