Remember January 6

Editor,

We should all take time this Thursday, January 6th to remember the horrific attempt to overthrow the government of the United States by violent extremists.  These people were our own citizens who were aided and abetted from the inside by top government officials misusing the power of their elected offices.

As bad as this deadly attempted coup was, it is being made far worse by the continuing attacks on our basic, long time democratic processes including our election system.  The Big Lie is being used to try to make sure a greedy, shallow minded and unpopular minority can seize and hold political power against the will of the electorate.  The Lie is also being used to discredit the Biden Administration and the Democratic Party.  The current administration has implemented a wildly successful national vaccine program, passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill and has been feverishly attempting to implement the Build Back Better Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and Freedom to Vote Act.  Who would be against such critical legislation to benefit the American people?

We must always remember and commemorate January 6 because the same insidious people who planned and implemented the violent insurrection against us are setting up to do it again, this time to succeed.  We simply cannot allow this to happen.  We must prosecute and severely punish anyone and everyone involved as a deterrent to protect our democracy. 

–David Siegel, Castro Valley