This is Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. It is the final resting place of 9,388 souls, of American heroes who gave what Lincoln described at Gettysburg as the last full measure of devotion. Those buried here, at Gettysburg, at Arlington, at cemeteries across the world that bear the flag of the United States died not merely in the battle of the moment or for the cause of that era, but are bound in their death that their lives were sacrificed not for a man or a flag or even just for the humankind of their time, but so that the Constitution of the United States could endure.
After four years of being told that “nothing matters,” we must remind ourselves that for those of us who remain living in objective reality, there is a great deal that continues to matter, and must continue to matter as it has since the Declaration of Independence. The lives sacrificed over centuries for the Constitution, the men and women across our country today in uniforms bearing a Purple Heart — that has to matter. It must mean more to us than one’s favored candidate or party winning an election. It must mean more to us than a cult of personality. As none other than a former Republican Presidential nominee and current Republican Senator, Mitt Romney, asked this past weekend, “has ambition so eclipsed principle?” For far too many Republicans — elected officials and voters alike — the answer to that question is a resounding yes. Their unchecked, delusional ambition has not only eclipsed principle, but it has also obliterated any remaining tethering they have to reality. It has demonstrated their ambition and devotion to a demagogue means more to their selfish selves than the blood shed on the beaches of Normandy.
Today, the outgoing, defeated President of the United States, Donald Trump, led an assault on the democratic process, on the free and fair elections that have defined the American experience for nearly three centuries. It was the denouement of his four-year long assault on the Constitution of the United States, on the very safeguard of human liberty for which millions have died. In a tragedy for democracy, that assault was joined by far too many Republican members of Congress and Senators, not to mention thousands of delusional (and mask-less) domestic terrorists who have flooded the streets of our capital city, of my home, convinced they are defending liberty, when in reality they are thrashing at the remains of what has been the greatest beacon of freedom since 1776. It followed Americans hearing the President this past Saturday try to cajole a democratically elected official in the state of Georgia to overturn the will of the people. We heard audio of a man declare war on the United States Constitution.
Their attempts were, predictably, entirely in vain. Our Constitution is stronger than Donald Trump, stronger than his sycophants in the Senate, stronger than the Proud Boys. It is so strong because of the blood shed by men and women in battlefields and at sea and in the air sworn to protect it. It is strong because of men and women who possess strength and bravery of which Donald Trump cannot even fathom. It is strong because they swear an oath to uphold the rule of law and in a nation of laws, the people rule.
Because the people rule, this anti-democratic movement’s delusional efforts will, of course, be futile. In two weeks, Joseph R. Biden and Kamala Harris will be sworn in. They will begin the arduous task of repairing the damage to the rule of law that Donald Trump has done over the past four years. We have been through difficult and bloody battles before. This battle was, thankfully, not one of bloodshed, but it was nonetheless a moment in which we were tested as a country and as a people. Many see it as a joke, or just another moment in the news cycle. But what we heard on that phone call, what we just heard from the president at that rally and will see in the Senate today, are no laughing matter.
For those who continue to support Donald Trump and his army of thugs who disdain this country, one day I would like to know why, to you, nothing matters; to hear from you why your delusions are more important than the sacrifices of the souls buried in Normandy, why you have such disdain for a country whose founding document closed with the words “We Mutually Pledge To Each Other Our Lives, Our Fortunes, And Our Sacred Honor.” Where is your sacred honor?