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In response to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the former Hawaii GOP communications vice chairman, Edwin Boyette, , “We should make it abundantly clear — the people who subscribed to the Q fiction, were largely motivated by a sincere and deep love for America. Patriotism and love of country should never be ridiculed.”

No wonder the Republicans are in disarray.  They have failed to take responsibility for the toxic environment they have cultured.

The reality is not patriotism and love of country but a deep-seated fear of something different. To rationalize the behavior of the Jan. 6th mob in the context of patriotism is an abomination.

Having a blind acceptance of only what they want to hear is not in the spirit of what we are about. When it turns into violence, there is no excuse.

A true patriot would understand the dynamics of this country and have a belief and faith in its institutions. If the rabble that stormed the Capitol accepts the rationale of love of country to define a more sinister agenda, they are incapable of building any kind of credibility.

They failed to understand what the character Terence Mann, played by James Earl Jones, said in his monologue describing baseball in the movie “Field of Dreams.” Two sentences in his speech wrapped up the history of our country. He said, “America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. Been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again.”

Too many people believe in the lies they are being told.  Too many are unwilling to explore the rich history of the United States and its institutions. Too many are too lazy to ask questions and think for themselves. After all, it is easier to accept a tabloid vision of America than to face reality.

The reverse side to the Great Seal of the United States has an unfinished pyramid. There are two mottoes, one above and one below. Loosely translated, the top one says, “Providence favors our undertakings.” The one on the bottom says, “New order of the ages.”

The pyramid remains incomplete, representing our experiment in democracy. We will never be finished if we allow the forces that perpetrate a society manufactured for their own kind and benefit take hold of us.

Perhaps in the aftermath, Republicans on the mainland and in Hawaii can once again embrace the party of Lincoln and not the party of Trump. How Hawaiian Republicans can blindly accept some of the more racist views of their brethren on the mainland is a mystery.

Yet labels such as RINO, for Republican in Name Only, serve to discredit opposing views as unworthy of their cause. I was a Republican for many years. I didn’t leave the party, it left me.