America is the home of the brave. Kansas deserves a senator to speak the hard truths

The first stanza of our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” ends in a question mark: “O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave/O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?” Jan. 6, 2021, asks every American if we are brave enough to face the truth.

We all watched on live television as rioters assaulted police officers, smashed windows and violently broke into our nation’s Capitol. We heard them chanting, “Hang Mike Pence.” They did not wave our nation’s star-spangled banner. They waved flags bearing the name of one man: Donald Trump. And they waved the Confederate flag that has become a national symbol of hate. This riot is what American politics has become, and will continue to be, if we do not take action to defend our democracy.

Jan. 6 was the culmination of lies. Trump began his term as president lying about the size of his inauguration crowd — a small, obviously wrong, meaningless lie that foretold the greater lies to come. He encapsulated all of his lies when he told a crowd in Kansas City, “What you are seeing and what you are reading is not what’s happening.” He staked his legitimacy on “alternative facts” and “fake news.” His greatest lie was that the 2020 election was stolen from him (it was not), and this lie led directly to the Jan. 6 riot.

Jan. 6 was the culmination of cowardice. Love him or hate him, Donald Trump leads with intimidation and fear. His personal attacks and scorched-earth tactics have defined his entire business, entertainment and political life. Trump’s lies would be meaningless if those around him had the courage to stand up to him. Instead, the vast majority of Republican politicians, including Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran, are dependent on Trump’s popularity for their own fundraising and reelections. Jan. 6 would never have happened if Republicans in Congress had the courage to hold Trump accountable from Day One.

Jerry Moran has let down Kansas and America by not having the courage to stand up for what is right. Over his 20 years in Washington, D.C., he has helped lead our country down a path of division, dysfunction and now defending open rioting against our elections. Within days of acquitting Trump for the second time and refusing to investigate Jan. 6, Moran solicited the former president’s endorsement. Jerry Moran knows the 2020 election was not stolen, yet he will leverage the lie (and the liar) for his own personal gain. America deserves better.

We should not be surprised: Moran has put party politics ahead of the needs of Kansas from the beginning. He votes against health care reform, while Kansas hospitals close. He refuses to address real issues with our environment to keep peace with his donors. And, he just voted against the bipartisan infrastructure bill that he helped negotiate because Trump said that he should. We need a leader who puts Kansas’ health, environment, jobs and people ahead of politics. Kansas deserves better.

Jan. 6 is a call to truth and courage. In my faith tradition, we are taught at a young age that “the truth will set you free.” The very freedom we enjoy in this country is dependent on truth. And truth is dependent on courage. I am running for U.S. Senate in Kansas because our state and our nation need a leader who will speak the truth, even when it is unpopular. We need community servants who are more concerned about the greater good than their own reelection. We need politicians who will stand up to their own party when it is wrong.

So does the flag still wave over the land of the free and the home of the brave? We will only be free if we are brave.