Dear Students,
We are undergoing a great challenge to American democracy that we have not seen since the Civil War in 1861. We need to do our best to understand what is happening.
You are probably aware, on Jan. 6, 2020 approximately 15,000 Trump supporters gathered in DC on the day Congress was scheduled to certify Joe Biden's win as president to protest because they believed Trump who continually lied and said that the presidential election was fraudulent and therefore he, not Biden had won. Thousands of them violently broke into the Capitol to stop legislators from completing the certification. They were not successful and Biden was certified as president late that night.
We will be discussing this issue and looking at its historical roots. So that I can figure out what information you need, please answer the questions below. Keep your answers to a couple of sentences, please. It's OK to answer "I only have a general idea . . . ." Or "I really don't know."
1.) What is your understanding of why this attack on the Capitol and threats of violence toward some Congress people was a threat to the US democratic system?
2.) What is your understanding of the different sources, besides Trump, that were telling these people that the election was fraudulent?
3.) What is your understanding of what motivates people in the crowd, what their political ideology and vision for the future of the U.S. is? Are you aware of what groups they belong to and what they are called?
4.) If you did not mention it above, please explain how you feel about all of this, do you find it overwhelming, confusing, scary, or don't think it affects you, you're not very familiar with politics, etc.
-If you have additional questions include them here. I will do my best to make sure we address them over the course of the semester.
-If you have news source(s) you recommend that you find informative and insightful, please write them here.