A year later, the most vivid memory I have of Jan 6 is the moment I returned to the House chamber after the riot had been quelled. I stepped over broken glass to get into the chamber. What ensued over the next hour was the most powerful experience of my career. THREAD
People spoke with hushed whispers. We touched each other’s shoulders gently with comfort as if at a funeral. Everyone still in a daze, swimming in uncertainty of the uncharted moment. I took a seat along the center aisle as the speeches began. 2/18
I glanced around the room. This is the room where our nation united during some of our darkest moments. Where FDR gave his Pearl Harbor “Day of Infamy” speech. Where leaders gathered after 9/11 to show resolve and unity. Where decisions of war and peace were made. 3/18
Could it happen again? Would we finally unite? For a brief moment I thought what happened would be a shock to the system. Like a defibrillator pulling our country back into rhythm. The speeches were raw, talking about the need to pull together. But then something changed… 4/18
When speeches switched back to electoral college debate, I felt something change in the room. I watched people pull out the same speech about election fraud they were going to give before, as if the riot never happened. The prospect of unity lasted only 35min and 53 seconds. 5/18
That was when I knew this would not be the unifying moment we needed. Shock of Jan 6 was not enough to shatter the Big Lie. Many ask me if my colleagues who spout the Big Lie believe what they say. At that moment I knew for certain they did. They believed every single word. 6/18
I started to walk out of the House chamber in disgust. While the riot damaged our Capitol, I felt that the scene I just witnessed would ultimately do more harm. The lasting damage of Jan6 was not the roaring riot, but the selfish silence and purposeful amnesia afterwards.7/18
I walked out the center doors of the House chamber. The same doors that Presidents walk through to give the State of the Union. Just hours earlier they had been smashed and barricaded with guns drawn. Again, guns were drawn on the House floor. 8/18
As I walked the halls away from the chamber I kept thinking, maybe our nation lost its ability to be shocked. After a pandemic and now Jan6, could something actually shock us to the point where we rediscover our shared identity/common good, like our nation has in the past? 9/18
Then I entered the Rotunda. To see that room, the most beautiful room in the most beautiful building in America desecrated, broke my heart. I got on my knees & started to pick up. As I picked up debris, I wandered down a side hall and saw something. 10/18 nbcnews.com/news/asian-ame…
I saw a plaque: “Beneath this tablet the cornerstone…was laid by George Washington.” I stood there carrying a bag of torn flags and broken glass, reminded that this building is bigger than all of us. I realized at that moment that I am but a mere caretaker of this building.11/18
This realization of being a caretaker fundamentally changed the way I see my job. Changed how I see the responsibility of being a citizen. Our democracy was handed to us, and on our watch we must do our best to preserve it and then pass it off to those that follow. 12/18
I've been fixated on a singular question: how do we heal this country? But what does it even mean to heal? I spent a year searching for the answer, and came see they it was right above me painted at the center of the ceiling of the Capitol dome. To heal is “E Pluribus Unum.”13/18
E Pluribus Unum. Out of many, one. Phrase expresses our nation’s goal but doesn’t tell us how. What makes the “many” become “one”? Unity doesn’t just happen on its own. Motto is thought to have been adapted by our founding fathers from a Roman named Cicero over 2000 yrs ago.14/18
Cicero also lived in tumultuous times. In one election, the loser and supporters stormed the Roman Capitol during the ceremonial counting of ballots and “disrupted the vote counting…assembled voters fled in terror before the election could conclude”15/18 zocalopublicsquare.org/2021/01/08/rom…
Cicero learns from political division and teaches “When each person loves the other as much as himself, it makes one out of many.” The missing verb in E Pluribus Unum is to love. The way to show our love for each other is through acts of service. Healing begins with service.16/18
It’s not too late to unite this country. I was wrong to think unity needed a shock to the system to catalyze. We don’t need a shock. We need service. Today we remember a year ago, but I propose that going forward we make Jan 6 a day of common good. A day of E Pluribus Unum.17/18
That we use Jan6 to renew our understanding and appreciation for our democracy. The goal is not to reset the clock to Jan5, but instead to understand clearly the job in front of us. Our job is to be caretakers. Our job is to heal this country and hand it off to our successors.END
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This is the most telling photo I’ve seen — Trump/Vance berating a wartime leader fighting against invasion directly in front of a bust of Churchill. It looks like Churchill is seated in the back, watching Trump kill the very US-Europe alliance that Churchill helped forge. THREAD
Why was the Oval Office exchange so humiliating to watch? It’s because every American alive today was born after the Greatest Generation led America’s rise to global leadership. What we saw yesterday was a surrender that could very well lead to American decline. 2/10
What we saw was a retreat from three basic pillars of American leadership: reliability, values, and impact. These are pillars that have been built over generations - from Americans landing on the beaches of Normandy onwards. 3/10
As Trump and Musk gut USAID today, I think back to my first day ever working for the US gov, showing up at the Reagan Building to start at USAID. Shame on them for demonizing Americans who are serving our nation, often in difficult and dangerous places. THREAD
We can have a policy debate about how much to spend internationally or what programs to fund, but their hate and paranoia towards other Americans go much deeper. I’m proud I worked at USAID. 2/8
I worked in USAID/Africa bureau where we helped rehabilitate former child soldiers in Uganda, helped with an emerging famine in Malawi. Trump admin complains about China’s growing influence in Africa but then shuts down one of our best tools to fight this. 3/8
I just talked to the family of Officer Brian Sicknick, who was killed on Jan 6. He grew up in NJ, served his nation, but was assaulted and killed. His assailants sentenced to prison until pardoned by Trump. Let us lift up Sicknick’s name and memory: THREAD
Officer Sicknick’s family’s pain today was so deep. That Trump used his first hours in office pardoning so many involved in that attack on the Capitol including the two of the assailants that attacked Officer Sicknick. It was a betrayal. 2/7
Let’s lift up Officer Sicknick’s name. Let’s remind everyone that an officer was attacked and killed that day. Sicknick laid in state in the Capitol Rotunda, honored by our nation as lawmakers from BOTH sides of the aisle, and now those who killed him are free. 3/7
I’ve been asked what it means to be 1st Korean American Senator. On this Korean American day, I want to share a photo of the home where my mom grew up during Korean War. America opened its doors and helped her become a nurse. Last week she stood with me as I was sworn in. THREAD
And it isn’t just my mom’s story. Over 120 yrs since the first Koreans came to America. Now there are 2 million Korean Americans. 24 million Asian Americans. Asian Americans are not monolithic.
I of course do not speak for all, nor is my story and experience reflective of all. 2/10
In fact I’ve struggled with my identity over my life. At times I resisted the label Korean/Asian American and snapped back with “I’m just American.”
I never would have imagined that Korean culture would become hugely popular between BTS, Squid Game, Korean BBQ, K-dramas etc. 3/10
Many in north/central NJ are worried about odor/taste of water coming out of the tap. As a father of two boys, I absolutely understand your worries. I talked with heads of NJ Dept of Environmental Protection and American Water.
Here are 4 key questions I asked: THREAD
IS THE WATER SAFE?
DEP/American Water report that water is well within NJ standards, which are some of the strictest in nation. They test for 100s of kinds of metals/ chemical compounds. Results are either non-detection or very low and far below levels of health concerns. 2/10
DO WE KNOW SOURCE OF ODOR/TASTE?
I completely understand if that explanation of water safety is not totally reassuring to those of you that smell/taste something wrong. You have a right to be concerned. Absolute key is identifying what is the compound that is causing the odor. 3/10