I’ve been writing for over two years about my disgust toward those who on January 6, 2021 invaded our hallowed U.S. Capitol Building, an institution of greatness (it doesn’t matter if you don’t like some of its current occupants) that ideally should be entered wearing one’s Sunday best, not dressed like a freak with Viking horns or channeling one’s inner Paul Revere by fancying oneself a modern day American ‘revolutionary’.

Of the tens of thousands of people on hand to listen to Donald Trump direct them to go to the Capitol and “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard,” over 99 percent complied. It was that one sliver who committed criminal trespass – not unlike what Persons Here Illegally (PHIs) do across our Southern border every day – and even most of those simply walked around and took selfies.

Some committed violence, as footage from the particular comfort food feeding troughs who cater to Democrats and Republican Never Trumpers have broadcast. But among those who didn’t was Jacob Chansley, the self-proclaimed ‘QAnon Shaman’ and aforementioned freak with the Viking horns.

What he did is no less disgusting: disrespecting our sacred seat of government and feeding Democrats and their mainstream media messenger boys endless fodder to enable them to further perpetuate the lie that the Shaman and other loonies who love dressing up in gawdy costumes and brandish Confederate flags somehow represent the typical Trump supporter.

But, get this, the Capitol Police let the Shaman walk around the building. They even tried to open doors for him. A couple of officers walked behind him, but the Shaman walked into a bunch of others who stood by and let him pass, like convenience store employees in New York City, Portland, Seattle, and other blue havens where shoplifting is no longer taken seriously by the police who when criminals openly swipe merchandise from shelves and walk right past them out into the street.

In fact, the Shaman further mocked the solemnity of Congress by parading at the podium in the Senate’s Chamber, where other trespassing freaks had gathered, and leading them in prayer, particularly thanking the Capitol Police “for letting us into the building.”

All these juicy tidbits come from Tucker Carlson, the highly controversial and opinionated commentator on the inaptly named Fox News Channel.

(NOTE: Fox’ actual newscasts are probably the most evenhanded in the industry nowadays, but amount to about five percent of that channel’s total programming.)

Carlson’s been in hot water many times – most recently for allegedly knowing the 2020 election wasn’t ‘stolen’ but pretending to be outraged that it really was. This time, he’s blasted by Democrats and Never Trumper Republicans who say that by exposing this footage, he’s compromising Capitol Building security by revealing secret passageways.

Perhaps the Capitol Police should have thought of that and arrested the Shaman on the spot rather than following him around like parents behind their kid at Disneyland.

Why on Earth didn’t they stop him? I can think of two plausible reasons, which are not mutually exclusive: perhaps the officers stood in solidarity with the protesters, also believing that the election was ‘rigged’ and ‘stolen’, and weren’t about to offer resistance. Much like cops during Prohibition who thought the 18th Amendment was ludicrous and weren’t about to enforce it.

The other reason is that the Capitol Police, who are under the command of the Speaker of the House of Representatives – who was Democrat Trump-hater Nancy Pelosi at the time – might have been commanded to bring in the clown show and let them parade around front and center on national television. Except why would Pelosi enable behavior that potentially put her own life at risk? On its face, that doesn’t make sense, but perhaps Pelosi, like Trump, thought starting a fire in a fire pit would be cool but didn’t realize it could blaze out of control.

In any case, it’s inexcusable and it’s professional malpractice.

Americans need to come together and demand answers. Here’s how we can all do our part. Readers of this newspaper come in all political stripes. You may think Biden saved America from Trump or hope the reverse will happen next year. You may believe Trump incited an insurrection on January 6 or that the Democrats really cheated. It doesn’t matter: the point is, the Capitol Police behaved reprehensively and we Americans need to call them out on it.

In today’s polarized society, most people don’t have the stomach for daily arguments, and so they tend to stick with their own political allies. But we should all reach beyond our comfort zone to others.

Right now, there are Democrats who think every Republican is a racist, sexist, xenophobe, Islamophobe, and Neo-Nazi, and loves Trump the way the Germans loved Hitler.

But there are also Republicans who think every Democrat supports open borders, wants leftist indoctrination in schools in order to break up families and outlaw religion, and secretly wants China to rule the world.

It should be obvious to any sensible observer that both of these extremes are wildly inaccurate. Just as most Republicans are reasonable, so are most Democrats. Really, they are. Most Democrats aren’t evil, and neither are most Republicans. No matter what your favorite comfort food feeding trough disguised as a respectable news outlet might tell you.

Therefore, it’s up to us to reach out to the sane Americans: our neighbors, our coworkers, our friends, our family members. They need to understand what the Capitol Police did. They need to watch this video with their own eyes.

It doesn’t mean they have to excuse Trump, the Shaman, Pelosi, or anyone else. But they need to see.