Alex Gakos / Shutterstock.com Pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. Leave it to me to publish the first of a two-parter just before MAGA terrorists stormed the Capitol — which, of course, upended my plans for this week's column. In the moment, it's difficult to know whether seemingly transformative events will transform anything. Intuitively, however, this feels like an inflection point. The authoritarian current flowing through the Republican Party was displayed on our national mantlepiece. How we confront it will be a defining story not only of 2021 but of the decade to come.