University of Rhode Island senior Jacob Cordiero was watching U.S. Senators debate the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election live when Trump supporters breached the building.
“It was stunning, it was a feeling of fear that I don’t think I’ve felt in a long time,” said Cordiero. “That’s our government, you can like them, you can dislike them, but the fact of the matter is: an attack on Congress is an attack on the very foundations of our democracy and of our society.”
Cordiero studies political science at URI and said, surprisingly, what happened Wednesday makes him want to run for office. Previously, he felt there was too much corruption and lying in politics to get involved.
“It’s clear our system of government is broken and that is discouraging, but I also think, on the other side of it, we have a responsibility to try to fix it,” said Cordiero
For Cranston resident Joe Hanson, the rioting brought to mind a quote from founding father Benjamin Franklin, who once described the nation as: “A republic, if you can keep it.”
Now 54-year old Hason wonders if we’re at risk of losing that republic.
“We’re getting real close to not keepin’ it, that’s what I see,” said Hanson. “It’s vigilance, it’s an informed citizenry, not a conspiracy theorist, lemming sort of mentality we have now.”
Hanson doesn’t hesitate to call the people who stormed the Capitol Building domestic terrorists. And he’s hoping that what happened in D.C. will bring about change in how politics is conducted.
“Maybe this discomfort is necessary to spur us to action to maybe start thinking country before party– people before party,” said Hanson.
Others, like Pat Cortellessa from Cranston, call the people who occupied the capitol anarchists.
Cortellessa, who ran for State Senate in Cranston this past November, cast a vote for Trump in 2020 but does not align himself with the men and women who stormed the Capitol, though they may support the same person.
“I think once President Trump moves out of the White House in 13 days and President Biden takes the realm, I think the party needs to reconfigure the direction it wants to go,” said Cortellessa. “I don’t know if there’s room for him in the party anymore.”
The voters that spoke with the Public’s Radio represented a variety of political ideologies, but all hold out hope that the country’s future will be less acrimonious than it has been this year…
83-year-old Charlestown resident Tyler Briggs has lived through wars as well as economic and social unrest through the decades.
A registered Republican, Briggs voted for Trump twice and concedes the President played a part in inciting the violence. But believes the country will move forward.
“I think the country will survive, we’ve survived a lot worse,” said Briggs. “I can remember WWII, my parents were depression people, we’ve lived through a lot. I think we’ll come out on the other side pretty good.”
Despite the events of Wednesday, the election has been certified and Biden will be the 46th president.
We’re asking members of the community to share their thoughts on the future of our American democracy. Read their stories here.
