We support President Joseph Biden’s call for unity between party lines and an end to the divisive bipartisanship that’s plagued this country for far too long.

As a collective staff, we watched with mutual disgust to the degradation and horrid acts conducted at the Capitol on Jan. 6. 

We openly support the right of every American to peacefully protest, but an attempted coup d’état incited by a borderline totalitarian dictator in a last-minute attempt to maintain power is neither a protest nor peaceful, and we cannot condone it.

We were saddened by the events that transpired at the Capitol. But more importantly we were heartbroken because we saw in real time the devastating effects that misinformation, conspiracy theories and willful ignorance can bring.

Despite the tragedy, Biden was inaugurated 14 days later on Jan. 20.

“Today we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause,” he said. “The cause of democracy.”

This was a clear message to the American people that our elections will not be compromised at the whim of any one candidate. Biden went on to say that our democracy is precious and fragile, but at this hour, democracy had prevailed.

We echo this belief and hold firm in our conviction that the tragic events at the Capitol can act as inspiration for Americans on both sides of the political divide to come together in order to protect our democracy as a united whole.

Today, more than ever before in our nation’s history since the Civil War, the old cliché rings true: United we stand, divided we fall.

“On this January day, my whole soul is in this,” Biden said. “Bringing America together. Uniting our people. Uniting our nation. And I ask every American to join me in this cause.”

Now is the time for Americans to break the chains of misinformation and remove the blinders of our single point perspectives. We must endeavor to understand one another through credible sources in an attempt to look at the world through someone else’s perspective. 

We shouldn’t vilify those who have different viewpoints and passions. We should first seek to educate ourselves before we attempt to educate anyone else. 

Pay attention to national and local news sources. The New York Times is available to every Dallas College student for free, and The Et Cetera is always here to shine light, even in the darkest of times.

Mahatma Gandhi believed that education was the responsibility of each individual in society and that the true nature of education was not the reflection of exam scores or memorizing numbers but the reflection of internal values.

To put it simply, we must educate ourselves and learn the value of relationships over politics.

How can we strive to teach values like compassion, empathy and love if we don’t understand them for ourselves first?

We should strive to baptize ourselves in the clear waters of understanding and tolerance in the hopes that we may be able to teach those values to our fellow Americans with a clean soul and pure intentions.

Now is the time for unity. Now is the time for change. Now is the time for domestic peace.