Suppose you are one of the nearly 40 percent of Americans who believe Donald Trump won the 2020 election.

In that case, you may not even bother to watch the presentations of the committee investigating the events of that day. After all, the president in whom you placed your trust told you that the most significant event in a democracy, the election of our leader, was corrupted in 2020.

That would mean the committee, comprised mostly of Democrats, is also corrupt because they should be investigating how Democrats stole the election from Trump.

So, why watch at all? Why give credence or credibility to this group of lying Democrats and Republican traitors? You can watch to see how flimsy their evidence is. You can watch to catch them in their lies. Or you can watch to see if there is any meaningful evidence.

If you do watch, be prepared to hear some provable claims about the 2020 presidential election:

Joe Biden won both the popular vote and the electoral vote. 60-plus court filings and numerous state recounts show Biden won a fair and free election. So say 50 secretaries of state and Trump’s attorney general, William Barr.

Several Trump-supported attempts to interfere in the 2020 elections included Trump calling Georgia election officials and asking them to “find” 11,700 votes so that he could win the state. This, despite three recounts in Georgia that all concluded Biden won the state. In seven states, Trump supporters attempted to create a false slate of electors that would report Trump won their states, knowing he did not.

There is evidence that Trump knew he lost the election, evidence that people within the administration, including Kelly Anne Conway, Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump and William Barr, all told him he lost the election.

So, listen if you want, ignore if you prefer, but will you distrust Republicans who supported president Trump when they report the above facts to you? Will you conclude that every single person but Trump is lying? You very well may reach that conclusion, but if you do, like it or not, would you not be self-defined as a cult member?

Donald Trump knew he would lose the 2020 election; he simply did not want to leave office. He was controlling the levers of power of the presidency; he did everything possible, including creating a violent attack on Congress in session, which could have cost the lives of elected officials and his vice president. Had Trump been successful on Jan. 6, it would have been the end of our democracy, and he would have stayed in office, negating the 81 million votes that elected Joe Biden as president.

It is natural to criticize the presidency of Joe Biden. It is OK to support the work of Trump as president. But it is not OK to ignore that our very form of government was at risk on Jan. 6 and could be at risk again in the 2022 and 2024 elections. Will Republicans nationally argue that they won elections they lost, refuse to concede and continue, as Trump has done, to undermine trust in our elections?

Truth does still exist, and it does still matter. If you do not believe the words above, simply write a rebuttal with facts that rebut these claims. That is how we resolve issues in a democracy. Otherwise, our form of government will not survive.

Jim Crawford is a retired educator and political enthusiast living here in the Tri-State.