The Congressional hearings on the Capitol Riot on Jan. 6th, 2021: Does anyone really care?
15) The results of these hearings, will most likely be "underwhelming"
The Congressional Hearings on the January 6th Capitol Insurrection are garnering plenty of media attention, that’s for sure! However, two underlying questions in all of this drama is;
1- Will any of these hearings actually make a difference in regards to charging Trump with actual crimes under a court of law?
2- In what way (if any) will this impact Donald Trump’s chances at running for President (again), in 2024?
If you are like most Americans, you probably aren’t paying that close attention to the hearings. Even if you are reading the headlines or catching news snippets, you probably think that while this is excellent theater, and it isn’t exactly a waste of time, the end results are unlikely to make anyone happy.
For the record, these hearings are ultimately a good thing. Democracy works best in daylight, and this is a prime example of it. However, there is too much politics at play for anything truly consequential that will come of this. There still will be millions of people who can’t stand Trump, and there still will be millions of MAGA loyalists.
Some of the most powerful and informative video coverage of the Capitol Insurrection since that fateful date over a year and a half ago, was from a popular political commentator/YouTuber known as JT. The video was made a few short weeks after the insurrection and is 31 minutes and 13 seconds long. It is a gripping, ground-floor view of what happened. The footage of this video is incredible. It isn’t anything like you have seen on network or even cable TV.
The creator of this video and of the YouTube channel is outside of the mainstream, for sure! That’s part of what makes his videos so good and so compelling. JT characterizes himself as a self-identified socialist. Political ideology aside, JT is someone who really points out the ridiculousness of the two party system in America. He’s also scathing in his insights on the corporate/capitalist greed that this country is fueled by. Whether you agree with his views or not, the appeal of a YouTube channel like this, as well as my Substack, (or any other edgy/thoughtful Substack writer, for that matter) is the unique perspective being offered, that you might not uncover in your typical daily news consumption habits.
The narrative around these January 6th hearings seems very insider-baseball(ish). Maybe that’s by design, or the political media echo chamber is no longer mainstream, but rather a niche market just like everything else. Well, everything except the NFL;
“Football once again ruled primetime, led by NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” while “Thursday Night Football” showed up twice on Nielsen’s top-rated series’ chart due to a quirk of some games airing only on NFL Network, and others simulcast on both Fox and NFL.” - Michael Schneider (Variety Magazine 05/31/2022)
A friend of mine said we are a nation without a moral compass anymore, and this is why we need authoritarian rule. At the time, I just shrugged at his comment, not really wanting to engage further with him on this. But, upon reflection, I realize his sentiment is part of the mainstream (or just so happens to encompass an enormous niche group), and this is a big reason why Trump still has such strength. People that support Trump aren’t idiots. They don’t lack reading comprehension, and they aren’t unfamiliar with authoritarianism. Rather, they see Trump as a vehicle in which the ends justify the means. Three Supreme Court Judges appointed over the course of Trump’s four year term does speak well for what the Conservative/MAGA movement has been able able to accomplish.
When it comes to mainstream news, the great equalizers have been YouTube and podcasts; Especially YouTube! Sports and culture critic - Ethan Strauss, my new favorite Substack writer, dedicated a whole article to YouTube stars most people never even heard of.
This all says a lot about where the mainstream wind blows. It’s hard for any media company to get a full sense of it. I can only think of a few outlets, be it documentarians or journalists that have adequately even addressed this phenomenon.
The movie preview (above) only runs 2 minutes and 34 seconds, and speaks very much to the fact that news is curated first and foremost to entertain us, and a very distant second it is supposed to inform us. Hence, why alternative news sources (in particular on Substack) , even ones you might not (always) agree with, are of such high importance in today’s social and political climate.
This very publication, Josh off the Press might or might not have written a review on the Social Dilemma, that in retrospect, might not have done as good of a job explaining the significance/importance of this movie as it could have.
To the larger point about accomplishments; What are these January 6th hearings really achieving? Other than the soap-opera of Trump’s innermost-circle, which by the way appears highly entertaining; What are these hearings really achieving?
What about people’s ability to participate in substantive discussions around policy differences in America? These types of conversations sadly, feel like a lost art. This might have more to do with our depleted attention spans, along with the weakening of our critical thinking skills, than anything. https://blog.valleywisehealth.org/negative-effect-of-screen-time-adults-children/
As a teacher, as an adult and as a parent, we talk a lot about the gaps in children’s education due to the pandemic as well as all the technological stimuli these children are ingesting. We tend to look at the younger generations and wonder what’s wrong with them? Yet all of us actually need to be more responsible or even fully aware of our own excessive screen time, which if you have an iPhone, gives you a weekly report on Sundays.
It’s possible that these hearings will actually lead to a criminal indictment against Donald Trump. But, even if Trump does stand trial, there would need to be a unanimous vote by jury to ultimately convict him. In a country as partisan as this one, it’s hard to believe that Trump would ever actually be convicted.
Despite the enormous attention surrounding the Capitol Riots, and Trump’s role in it, Attorney General Merrick Garland appears reluctant to bring charges against our most recent President. This might be because, the Attorney General is painfully aware of the future (and unseemly) precedent this might set for the Executive Branch. Because of the damaging legacy President Trump left, it doesn’t seem too unrealistic that there will just be a new partisan witch hunt against another former President, which forces him/her to stand trial for a crime he might or might not have committed during his/her term(s) of office.
In the end, it’s pretty clear that Donald Trump was a norm shattering President, which might be rather fitting for these norm-shattering times. The MAGA movement, Trumpism, or whatever else you want to call it, isn’t going away any time soon, even if Trump never is elected President again. The saddest part in all of this, is the ideological wars (both visible and invisible) that continue to tear this country apart.
Peace & Love
-JPJ
I mean, Trump sure knows how to flood the media with so much crap, it's hard to keep up. It's not that people don't care, it's just that people are too exhausted from all this. And his supporters can too easily be dismissive of all this.