Ugly Americanism at the U.S. Capitol

The Jan. 6th 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol will go down in history as one of the most despicable acts in the United States.

The most important thing to know is why the riot occurred and who was behind it. It mainly involved angry, white males who want to preserve the "American Way of Life," i.e., white privilege being "normal" and white supremacy myths being "natural." It is a regressive agenda they are intoxicated with: going back in time to something like the 1890s when the U.S. behaved like a drunken juvenile,  attempting to expand worldwide in the name of Manifest Destiny; the latter giving its leaders the "god-given right" to "civilize" the "inferior races."

The juvenile has grown up but is still drunk with power. U.S. leaders/officials like former, disgraced "president" Donald Trump, among others, are guilty of encouraging the riot, despite Trump's doublespeak of wanting peace. The U.S. government, although having beneficial social programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, apparently clings on to the exceptionalism of Manifest Destiny doctrine. Its leaders think that their country is so great that the rest of the world has to follow in the U.S.'s footsteps. But it's not the same political situation as in the 1890s. There is a growing wave of multi-polarism in the world, and the reality that the U.S. is multi-cultural.

The racial/cultural changes in the world and in the U.S. are something the rioters hate. Their fascistic attempt at government takeover is a sign that they are threatened by the decline of white "superiority," and in turn the rise of diversity. It is a homogenous mentality that these rioters adhere to. Everything has to be 100% "American," meaning  a white-dominated society predicated on Western "values" and "norms." It's not that Western civilization is all bad. There are the major accomplishments derived from it. But those like the rioters traditionally look down on other civilizations.

There is another key reason why the riots occurred. Those participating have a fear of "big gubberment" intervention. The big, bad government is going to take away their rights and freedoms, so they think. Government, for now anyway, is an essential tool for the making of a stable society. Without it, or with a bare-bones government, there would be chaos and the survival of the fittest. Perhaps some of the rioters, at the least, want to thrive in this kind of society. But it will be a rude awakening if they ironically fall victim to it.

The riot at the U.S. Capitol also exposed an example of Ugly Americanism. This is usually reserved for foreign policy but the rioters provided a domestic version of it. In all, the rioters represent an old version of the U.S. Thus, they cling to an archaic mentality. The tragic part is that they are still around and may commit more despicable acts.