Ranking Tragedies January 7, 2022January 6, 2022 The President’s speech in two minutes. A Critic: “These comparisons of January 6 to Pearl Harbor and 9/11 are hilarious.” → I see your point. Another way to look at it, though, is November 22, 1963. A lot of people of my generation remember it as a pivotal date in American history. Yet the Kennedy assassination did not threaten democracy, and so was arguably less important than January 6th’s attempted — ongoing — coup. Thus January 6 may be more consequential than November 22, 1963 – an assassination, horrible though it was, that actually led to passage of the Voting Rights Act and expansion of democracy, the opposite of what’s unfolding today. To which A Critic responded: “That was a horrific murder. January 6th was a bunch of mostly misdemeanors.” → Only a few people died January 6; but for the first time since 1812, the symbol of democracy was breached and defiled, and – while we’ll never know for sure – the deaths of the Speaker of the House and Vice President, among others, may have been only narrowly averted. So, in my view, January 6th is a date worth turning into a symbol. Imagine for the sake of discussion that American democracy were to die without a single death but rather through (say) a masterful disinformation campaign. I would consider that a tragedy. And if there were a single date that symbolized that tragedy, it would in my mind qualify for the kind of recognition December 7 and 9/11 and November 22, 1963 command. Death counts are not the only criterion to consider in ranking tragedy. The countless Americans who’ve died over the years defending democracy would probably agree that its death would be a worse tragedy than their own. Just my two cents in favor of making a big deal about January 6th. And taking the President’s words to heart.