If you want to read a scholarly analysis of what has taken place at the Capitol and in our country The American Abyss by Timothy Snyder is at the top of the list. Timothy Snyder is a Yale professor of history and expert on fascism. Professor Snyder wrote Bloodlands an intense history of Stalin and Hitler’s mass murders in Eastern Europe which I previously reviewed. The American Abyss gets to the heart of long term issues that led us to the assault on the Capitol and the divisions in our society, but Snyder also identifies what we must look out for going forward. A key finding in the article is the complicity of the Republican Party in using racism to get votes while channeling power and resources to the wealthy. Snyder identifies two types of current Republican politicians; gamers who use Trump and racism for election and power, breakers who like having a white authoritarian in power and could care less about democracy. Armed with the insight and information of this article citizens can both understand the history that led us to near disaster, and correctly analyze what needs to happen in the coming years. Snyder identifies truth as a necessity for democracy and all parties having agreement on basic facts. I strongly recommend that every literate concerned citizen read or listen to The American Abyss by Timothy Snyder at the New York Times website.