Today the Capitol was stormed.
Earth’s seat of representative power was breached—not by protestors seeking reform, but by those demanding rewrites of the vote. The Capitol—a symbol, however flawed, of democratic ritual—became theater. Flags, zip ties, chants of hanging: not symbols of dissent, but a violent showcase of contempt.
What’s worse is how foreseeable it was. Institutions warned, historians cautioned, yet caution became background noise. The boundary between democratic ritual and political spectacle thinned. Today’s crisis is not only that the barrier was crossed—it’s that it has long been eroded. And those tasked with repairing it are already repairing their optics instead.