The country is divided right now, but you don’t need me to tell you that.  

Politics has been becoming more and more polarizing over the course of the last several years, especially so since the 2016 presidential election. It’s been years of inflammatory rhetoric, racist dog-whistling, and then later, blatant racist statements that allow for no nuance, and a political climate that has brewed radicalism on either side of the aisle. 

In the last four years, amidst the toxic politics, we’ve also heard people call for compromise and a renewed sense of camaraderie across the aisle. We’re hearing it again right now. People want the country to heal, and the belief is that reaching for a compromise is the best way to achieve that.

The events that occurred at the Capitol building Wednesday prove that the absolute last thing our country needs right now is compromise. 

The time for middle ground and moderates and compromise is over. We have gone so far past that point, that it would be deeply irresponsible, and incredibly dangerous to humor the idea of compromising with the people and politicians who support the attempted coup that took place in our nation’s Capitol. 

Years of attempted compromise and Democrats failing to take a stronger stand against President Donald Trump and his administration’s actions has led the way for these events to occur. Democratic leaders have not been loud and assertive enough in their platform and in their disapproval for the Trump administration’s perpetual un-American rhetoric, and the events that have occurred since the 2020 election are proving this fact again and again.

If they had been clear, if they had been strong- it would have never have gotten to this point. 

The nation had to watch as neo-Nazis, confederate apologists, and white supremacists marched into our Capitol waving their racist symbols and proudly displaying their inhumane ideology. These people were there to support Trump and did so by attempting to undermine the democratic processes that have made our nation a global symbol for western democracy. 

We can’t reason with fascists. We can’t compromise with neo-nazis. We can’t come together with white supremacists. 

We need to unequivocally condemn these groups and every politician that led the way for these groups to feel comfortable enough to proudly announce their hateful ideologies. 

No more “it’s just politics.” No more “seeing both sides.” No more false neutrality in media coverage in an attempt to seem unbiased. 

If one side of the story is the side of neo-Nazis and supremacist groups- there’s no need to give them a voice. There’s no need to see where they are coming from because where they’re coming from is blinding hate. 

There is no benefit or use in hearing these people out. Not all Trump supporters were okay with what happened at the Capitol. But everyone who charged the Capitol supported Trump, and it’s not biased to state that fact.

This conflict isn’t between Democrats and Republicans anymore. It’s between people who want to sustain democracy and those who are trying to burn it down. We want our nation to heal from this great divide, but people are forgetting what we’re divided over.

This is human rights vs. White supremacy. This is democracy vs. fascism. 

So it’s time to ask ourselves- do we want to compromise in order to try and promote unity for unity’s sake or do we want to take a stand and say proudly and unequivocally say that we will not stand united with supremacists and fascists? 

We need to move forward, heal from the damage caused by years of inflammatory rhetoric, enact progressive policies that help minorities in this country, and work to address the systems that perpetuate bigotry. And you just can’t fight fascists while holding their hands.