No angry and deluded mob stormed the U.S. Capitol Monday. There was no violent invasion, no bludgeoning of police officers, no shocking vandalism, no mortal threat to members of Congress and the vice president. Nothing particularly newsworthy happened — which qualifies as very big news indeed.

What did take place at the Capitol was the routine certification of the result of the November election. It is now official: Donald Trump, who accepts the will of the voters only when he wins, will again be president. Our battered democracy survives.

Not without scars, however. The president-elect and most of the Republican Party want us all to forget that exactly four years ago — on Jan. 6, 2021 — Trump’s refusal to acknowledge his loss to Joe Biden sparked tragic events that were unprecedented in the nation’s history. For the first time, we did not witness a peaceful and orderly transfer of power from one political party to another.

What we saw instead were scenes we never thought could take place in this country. Rioters injured 140 police officers, bashing them with clubs and assailing them with bear spray. Members of Congress were forced to........

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