The events commemorating the January 6th attack on the Capitol will begin on Thursday with a speech by President Joe Biden, who will say that the “way forward is to recognize the truth and live by it.”
“And so at this moment we must decide what kind of nation we are going to be,” Biden plans to say. “Are we going to be a nation that accepts political violence as a norm?”
“Are we going to be a nation where we allow partisan election officials to overturn the legally expressed will of the people? Are we going to be a nation that lives not by the light of the truth but in the shadow of lies? We cannot allow ourselves to be that kind of nation. The way forward is to recognize the truth and to live by it.”
Biden’s remarks are an acknowledgement that the misinformation that drove Donald Trump’s supporters to storm the Capitol a year ago is just as pervasive today, spread on the internet, social media and among right wing TV figures. That extends even to the events of January 6th, what with Fox Nation carrying Tucker Carlson’s documentary in November that advanced the theory that the attacks were a “false flag” operation coordinated by the FBI.
All of the networks plan coverage throughout the day, a mix of analysis and recollections from correspondents and anchors, as well as a focus on what remains unanswered and of the continued polarization in the country. That was evident by Attorney General Merrick Garland’s remarks on Wednesday, when he vowed to continue to prosecute those involved in the planning and coordination of the attacks. But he also warned of a pervasiveness of violent threats against more than politicians but election officials, journalists and even flight attendants.
While there is plenty of coverage today on how the events of January 6th changed lives, families and sectors of society, the basic thrust of so much of politics remains a kind of us vs. them, driven by talking head figures who are the lynchpins of viability for so many different cable and online outlets.
More to come.