There Cannot Be Real Unity Without Accountability
By Team AOTL
“The denial of even a single voter’s right to be heard should concern all of us.”
A.G. Holder wrote that line with Stacey Abrams a year ago this week. Together they were trying to call attention to the significant barriers facing voters. Last week, 147 members of Congress voted to reject 10,172,015 ballots in Arizona and Pennsylvania.
More than 10 million legally cast ballots. That is beyond cause for concern.
This vote to overturn the results of a free and fair election undermines democracy in the same way blatant voter suppression and gerrymandering do — by attempting to silence voters.
As A.G. Holder said, we need to be wary of “unity” calls that are designed to excuse the conduct of people who undermine our democracy. History has shown us that there cannot be real unity without accountability.
We need a coalition of people committed to renewal, willing to rebuild what the past four years damaged. We need to take our visions for a more just society and use those aspirations to reinforce the foundation of our democracy. And along the way, we must refuse to compromise our morals to unite with those willing to use sedition and insurrection to construct their dystopia.