by Tanner Hittesdorf
There are no two ways about it. Last Wednesday’s blatant attack on the United States Capitol was abhorrent, ill-conceived, and drenched in seditious rhetoric. It was a clear attempt by an extremely vocal minority that they do not care for the democratic process of the United States of America. This attack on the Capitol is one of the most shocking events to have come during the tenure of one of the most divisive Presidents in United States history; let us not mistake nor lie to ourselves however, he was at the forefront of this callous and shallow attempt of a citizen coup.
For months, the President of the United States has made several claims of voter fraud within several states, all of which he was defeated by Joe Biden within. In court Donald Trump’s lawyers failed to frame any evidence based on realistic facts or convincing theses; instead, they utilized rhetoric as their weapon for a small minority of extremist supporters. Occam’s Razor dictates that, “Of many explanations, the simplest one is likely to be correct.” As such, without proper or decisive evidence, there are two possible explanations of Joe Biden’s successful bid for the President of the United States. One is that voter fraud was rampant in the election and was paramount to his victory. The other was that more people in the United States voted (be that in the booth, by mail, or by absentee ballot) for Biden than Trump. All things being equal, the simplest answer is the likeliest. Therefore, without any evidence to prove otherwise, the realest answer is that Joe Biden won the election fair and justly.
Two other philosophical and logical razors used in debate are the Sagan Standard (named after Carl Sagan) and the Hitchen’s Razor (named after Christopher Hitchens). The Sagan Standard states that, “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence” whereas Hitchen’s Razor is similar in scope, “that which is asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.” Both principles are based in similar logic, as is Russell’s teapot, which are all based on burden of proof. The claim that the 2020 United States election was mired in voter fraud perpetrated by the Democratic party is an incredible claim. It comes with a high burden of proof. However, little to no proof has actually been presented when given the opportunity to by several members of the Republican party. Without any evidence, the logical conclusion should be to dismiss the claim without needing to disprove it oneself.
It is terrifying that such events are happening in part to a delusional minority that wishes to destroy democracy as we currently know it. I have no wishes to associate with anyone that truly believes these unfounded, foolish, and seditious beliefs in earnest. I said months ago that it was a time for coming together and looking forward to the future. Several members of society have made me disappointed in their failure to do so, and thus I cannot sit idly by and let them poison the well with horrifying rhetoric. We cannot let domestic terrorists continue to destroy our great nation any longer.