Because several persons have noticed my being named a “Senior Advisor” to the United States Capitol Historical Society, those not residents of our nation’s capital, Washington, DC, have asked what I think of the events of January 6, 2021, when hundreds of people “took over” our Capitol by force.

         First just a bit of background on the United States Capitol Historical Society (USCHS—website www.uschs.org).  The Society was established in the early 1960’s, primarily because of the vision of a former Republican member of Congress from Iowa, Fred Schwengel.  USCHS is not a government agency, nor a section of the management structure of our Capitol building.

         Congressman Schwengel felt that the Capitol was more than a building.  He believed it symbolized the most successful democracy in human history, and preserving its intangible importance in our world, plus spreading the citizens’ knowledge of its history and all that took place in the building, was essential in keeping our citizens respectful of what our civil liberties meant. He felt that how men and women with different views of how to ensure the democracy our forefathers and their successors would come to life for those who visited the Capitol, knew its history, and knew of the heated debates and different views expressed over the past 200 plus years in the Capitol.  In other words, Congressman Schwengel knew that the Capitol was a living symbol of our freedoms and democracy.

         Although my first visit to the Capitol building was when I was nine years old in 1956 with my family, after a few months of working for a member of Congress J.J. “Jake” Pickle, representing the then 10^th District of Texas as beginning in 1972. I wondered why he gave so much time to the Society as one of its trustees, and by introducing proposed legislation to have the Society become a Federal not for profit, and to have the leading role in providing guided tours of the Capitol building for citizens visiting the Capitol

         I kept my thoughts to myself. As chief of staff, I assigned other staffers to handle tasks Congressman Pickle needed to promote the legislation, and the  Society. My view: “How is this time Mr. Pickle’s spends on something not related to the 10^th District of Texas going to help get votes in the 10^th District so he can continue his work on “big” issues, like taxes, investigations, etc.”.

         My near decade of work for Congressman Pickle included many a trek from the office where I worked to the Capitol building to be at a committee’s meeting he was attending, or one where he was the chair, or to hand him a brief on a vote he would be taking that day on the House floor.  Time in the Capitol resulted in my being awed by the Capitol’s art, statutes, and interior design.

         But more important that my spending time in our Capitol, was the fact I often interacted with women and men from the 10^th District of Texas who had visited the Capitol while in DC. Those visits with citizens from the 10^th District would often include these visitors expressing policy views, and their view of our nation’s leaders.

         Important to note is that during the 70’s, the citizens who voted in the 10^th District of Texas had a diverse views.  Some were what we call today “lefties”, as the 10^th Districts major metro area was Austin, Texas, home of the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, with nearly 50,000 students; but the 10^th District also included eight or so counties that were primarily rural, with very, very conservative citizens, what are now called “righties”.

         One thing both groups had in common was they did not think the Congress—House or Senate—represented their views, or that the members of Congress were decent, principled, and honest, but were controlled by special interests and thus did not care for the average citizen.

         In other words, the view of Mark Twain expressed in the 19^th Century, and still true today, was most citizens hated the Congress, but overall had a positive view of her/his own member of Congress.

         But, after a tour of the Capitol, and its majestic appearance, and having their tour guides tell the history of the Capitol, its construction, and tales of anger, and heated interaction between members—often before the Civil War— but existing at any year of our Congress—the men and women from a Congressional district of both lefties, and righties, expressed pride in what our Capitol stood for—democracy, not dictatorship—for freedom of expression, not violent resolution of differences.

         So, I began to understand why Congressman Pickle was so supportive of an entity to preserve the history of the Capitol, as that history was a symbol of our Founding Fathers belief that not Kings or Queens should make all the major decisions impacting men and women of a nation, but decisions should be made by  men and women that had been elected by the people, and who took an oath to uphold the Constitution, and its Bill of Rights.

         Do not misinterpret what I write—the 10^th District lefties did not leave the Capitol thinking the members of Congress thoughts as they did, or the righties thought after visiting the Capitol.  They, however, more often than not, left the Capitol with respect for order, openness, and willingness to respect differing views.

         So, when I saw the January 6 invasion of the Capitol,  by some with the intent to kill, some with the intent to express a view they felt Congress members needed to be more aware of, but none with respect for what the Capitol represents, I was sad mainly.  I felt most of those storming the Capitol seemingly wishing to kill certain leaders of Congress, were not believers in democracy where different opinions are tolerated, and different opinions will always have to be tolerated in a democracy.

         But I was also comforted to know that the United States Capitol Historical Society, as I learned from working for Congressman Pickle, and his colleagues who felt that the history of the major building of our government was a subtle, but yet real world example of how a  democratic government is supposed to respond to different views—with respect, pride, grandeur, as it our Capitol.  (Keep in mind, no nation in the world has a capitol building as impressive as ours in Washington, DC.).

         So for those who have asked me “as someone who has lived in DC for nearly 50 years, what is your reaction” to the takeover of the Capitol on January 6, I respond:  I was sad, negative, wanting any laws broken to be enforced, worried that if there is not more calm, a police state to preserve safety becomes too common, and I can go on.

         But as a Senior Advisor to the United States Capitol Historical Society,  a volunteer slot, I want all to understand symbols are important, the past is prologue, and preserving lessons from history will help us move towards a more perfect Union.