Guest Opinion: Rioter Stephen Ayres says 'take the blinders off'

Stephen Ayres, who has pleaded guilty to illegally entering the Capitol building on January 6, 2021 and who testified at a January 6th Committee hearing, provides a powerful lesson for Republican Party leaders and the obvious start to solving our country’s painful division: Tell the truth.

Stephen Ayres has to rebuild his life, but at least now, he will know that his actions in life will be built on the wisdom gained through his pain: "The biggest thing for me is to take the blinders off and make sure you step back and see what's going on — before it's too late."

Why is that lesson so hard for Republican leaders to process? They have seen the tragic consequences of their lies on the lives of people like Stephen Ayres, and they know they are lies. So, stop. It is really that simple.

The lies of Republican leaders have not only hurt people like Steven Ayres, they have fed the hate of right-wing extremists — both individuals and para-military groups. Charlottesville, Buffalo, South Carolina, Oklahoma City, etc., all stand as tragic demonstrations of their hate and its fatal impact on innocent Americans. Reports make it clear that those groups are only gearing up for more violence in the future, egged on by Trump’s massive 2020 election lie.

Here is the simple truth: There was no measurable fraud in the 2020 election. No one stole it. Joe Biden won the 2020 election fairly.

The recent report, "Lost, Not Stolen: The Conservative Case that Trump Lost and Biden Won the 2020 Presidential Election" backs these simple truths clearly and powerfully.

However, until current Republican leaders stand up as one and tell the truth, we can’t fight back against the impact of their false claims and against extremist, white supremacist beliefs held by too many Americans. Telling the truth won’t immediately restore faith in our government, but until Republicans do tell the truth, we can’t even begin. Martin Luther King wrote, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.” Until the Republican leaders start to tell these fundamental truths, we are all lost in the darkness, and the health of our nation, and our nation’s children and their future hangs in the balance.

Tom Taft is a resident of Chalfont.

This article originally appeared on The Intelligencer: Guest Opinion: Rioter Stephen Ayres says 'take the blinders off'