The study and sweep of history tends to turn real life into myth. In hindsight we imagine it unfolding in grainy footage, or in black and white, set to a sweeping cinematic score. It’s less like it physically happened, and more like it has always just been. Throughout 2020 and into 2021, we’ve been reminded frequently and painfully that this is not the case—that history happens in real time, made and experienced by real people. The January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol was an ultimate example of a…
