His
forty-two-year life on this earth was ordinary and extraordinary, as many human
lives are. Ordinary, and beautiful, in that he was a good son and good brother,
a devoted boyfriend to his partner of eleven years, Sandra, and he so loved his
dogs. Two dachshunds, Sparky, and Pebbles. Watching hockey too.
His
was an extraordinary life, as a lifelong public servant: a soldier, a first
responder. Brian Sicknick served in the New Jersey Air National Guard, deployed
to Saudi Arabia in 1999, and Kyrgyzstan in 2003. He was honorably discharged that
year and went on to serve as a United States Capitol police officer from 2008
to 2021.
January
of 2021, with a
last day of service, end of watch, January 6th.
That
day Brian, while bravely defending the Capitol building along with his fellow
officers, from a mob of thousands of rioters bent on overturning the 2020 election
results, was sprayed at close range in the face with pepper spray by two of those
assembled “protestors”. Officer Sicknick seemed to be okay but at 10 pm that
night, he collapsed and was hospitalized. The next day, he suffered two
strokes, was put on life support but then died, 32 hours after the rioters violently
attacked him. Months later, the D.C. medical examiner Dr. Francisco J. Diaz concluded
that Sicknick died of “natural causes” but, “all that transpired played a role
in his condition."
He
died serving his country. The two men who assaulted him were arrested, tried,
and convicted, and sentenced to jail. They were serving out their punishment until
this week, when they, along with more than 1,500 other insurrectionists, were
pardoned by our new President. With the stroke of a pen, the President pardoned
every last one of those so called “patriots,” they who marauded through the
cathedral of our democracy. Who
unrinated and defecated throughout the building. Who so traumatized Capitol police officer Jeffrey
Smith that nine days after the riots, he committed suicide. Who cost taxpayers
$1.2 billion for cleanup and the hardening of that building to prevent other
riots.
Brutes.
Bullies. Haters. Crazies. They all walked out of jails and are now free.
I
guess this is the country we are living in now.
You can cause the death of a first responder doing their duty and
defending the democratic process and you can still get away with it. Walk scot-free with bloodstained hands, none the worse for wear apparently. Go back to
rioting and using violence as a political cudgel against anyone who dares to opposes
you or your beloved leader.
As
a citizen and a person of faith I don’t know what breaks my heart more. The unjust, unnecessary death and suffering
of all those Capitol police and D.C. police officers who tried their best to
hold the line on that darkest of days in American history? The descent into
government sanctioned lawlessness? Do the crime and you don’t have to pay the
time!
Imagine
how hurt and insulted the survivors must feel, like their loved ones’ lives
meant absolutely nothing, at least not to the commander in chief and maybe not even
to some of the millions who voted for him too.
And
of course, my faith always tells me, “Thou shalt not kill.” That’s religion 101. Morality and ethics for
beginners. If we as a country can’t get that right then we are doomed to more
chaos, more suffering and the destruction of democratic ideals and values that really
makes America great.
Mob
rule? That’s not America.
Or
is it?
The Reverend John F. Hudson is Senior Pastor of the Pilgrim Church, United Church of Christ, in Sherborn, Massachusetts (pilgrimsherborn.org). He blogs at sherbornpastor.blogspot.com and is a resident scholar at the Collegeville Institute at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. For twenty-five years he was a columnist whose essays appeared in newspapers throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island. He has served churches in New England since 1989. For comments, please be in touch: pastorjohn@pilgrimsherborn.org.
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