January 6 may be only a preview of a deeper democratic rupture

If January 6, 2021, was just one infamous day in history, its stain on the American story would still reverberate through generations.

But the US Capitol insurrection was far from a self-contained day of rage. It was both the culmination of the rule of an aberrant, demagogic President and a catalyst for the most enduring onslaught on America's system of elective governance in decades. It legitimized violence as a tool of political expression among millions of citizens and cast the haunting possibility that as horrific as that day was, it may be only...