Jan. 6 was a unique day for every one of us. It went in history as a day when the sacredness of the government was infringed upon.
Many leaders and commentators were quick to respond by saying this is not who we are. Others were more on the other side, saying it is as bad as it sounds and there is no way around it.
Both sides were right and wrong. This country always waves the flag of democracy high above all its branches of government. So when an event or a series of events happens that goes against that principle, we should say this is not who we are. But at the same time, the individuals who carried this huge infringement on the largest and biggest symbol of democracy and government in this country did not come from another country; they came from our communities throughout the whole country. So this is who we are, the mixture of people who were violated and the people who inflicted the crime.
It is a good practice and a wise way of dealing with feuds among families (and in this case communities) that we take a step back and see how we got here. When did this rift start? And did we allow it to get this big? Then after that, the big question of how can we move forward?
Do we move forward as a divided country that will continue going down the dark tunnel of race tensions and hate advocacy, or do we accept the reality that we are one country and one family? The bravery is not winning wars; it is winning hearts and being able to cope with the ups and downs of interaction with others around us.
Elections are an interaction that we are so proud to be good at. The way it has worked is that the winners get to implement their agenda while everyone else gets to do checks and balances on them and prepares for the next round. Elections never mean that the loser gets to destroy or attack the system because it did not allow him to win. Elections in this country had an outcome that we all should have celebrated. It was the highest turnout in any election. People who took part in deciding and choosing who will represent them made that choice truly clear. Election results were as colorful as the states we live in. Both parties garnished enough wins to claim the day was their day in the sun. The competition was tight in places while it was easy wins in others.
The race for president showed that the country was ready for new leadership at the top. That race was not a close race. With about an 8 million votes difference, the message was truly clear, and it should have been heard and respected by everyone. Instead, we went through cycles of recounts, and court challenges (nothing wrong with that). At the end of that, the result was obvious that the vote was true, and the loser should have reacted in grace and acknowledged that he lost, and that would have placed him in a very respected place in the current time and in history.
Going forward is what matters and while it is easy to fix the material damage to buildings and structures, it will be a long process to heal the rifts that are left in our communities. Every one of us should take it upon ourselves to reach to the other and build a new bridge that is based on mutual respect, understanding and sharing the responsibility of uniting and coordinating a comeback for every positive aspect of our country and community. Saying this, I reach to anyone in our community who wants to work towards that goal. It does not matter if you are in a position of authority or just a nobody (like me). We can do it together.
Shaher Sayed is congregation leader at Burlington Masjid, 1908 S. Mebane St., Burlington. Contact him at Burlington.Masjid@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Times-News: Sayed: Let's move forward in uniting this country
