The House report on the Jan. 6 insurrection tells us little that we didn’t already know.
We knew Republicans mounted a multi-pronged effort to overturn the 2020 election, and while the committee report lays much of the blame on the former president, Mr. Trump had a lot of help.
That help was not limited to the rioters who stormed the Capitol. Most of the 147 Republican congressmen (vox.com) who cynically voted to object to the electoral count have remained unapologetic and apparently unashamed.
Though the attempted coup failed, its fallout continues.
Special Prosecutor Jack Smith will be investigating and prosecuting some of the perpetrators for at least another year, but the plot’s outlines are already clear: People who wished to maintain their power were willing to sacrifice democracy on the altar of their selfish desire.
It occurs to me that considerations of selfishness and shame also apply to an editorial in last Sunday’s newspaper objecting to the release of Trump’s taxes (“Democrats’ decision doesn’t pass smell test.”) Reading it, I wondered why our tax returns are secret. What are we hiding?
Is it our nation’s embarrassingly uneven distribution of wealth that bothers us, or is it something more personal? If others see we have little money, will they think us failures?
If wealthy, how we acquired and use our money will become public. People will know if we’re charitable or miserly and if we pay taxes in proportion to our wealth. Keeping tax returns secret protects individuals and corporations from having to share such potentially uncomfortable knowledge with others.
And just as their protected status has allowed Republican representatives to ignore the Jan. 6 Committee’s subpoenas (nytimes.com) and other witnesses have cowered behind the Fifth, the secrecy surrounding tax returns can hide lying and other abysmal behaviors (equitablegrowth.org).
We all know bad behavior often flourishes in the dark.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.