If we hope to live in a democratic society, we need to act like citizens of a democratic society.
This last Saturday, millions of Americans across all 50 states participated in "Hands Off" protests. At least a thousand of us did so near a library right here in Plymouth, Minnesota. (Realistic estimates I've seen online could be double that, but crowd numbers are not something I obsess over.) Most of the biggest protests happened at state capitols, including a beautiful event over in St. Paul, but for those of us out in the 'burbs, these satellite protests are great for civic participation without the transportation headaches.
If you haven't been to a protest before, but you're not happy about [insert today's fascist nightmare here], then you need to find one, and attend it. You are not alone; the crooks strip-mining our civilization just want you to feel like you're alone.
"But I want no part of politics; it's stupid." "It's just another pendulum swing, there's nothing we can do about it." "I'm too busy to go to a protest."
None of these are valid excuses. There are no valid excuses. Your family, your friends, your city, your nation, don't need your excuses. They need you to stand up.
A bald eagle flew overhead as we protested. Most of us, myself included, were not equipped with real cameras, and I was not there to snap pictures anyway, but I did manage to just barely capture the auspicious moment:
It won't win any photo contests, but there's our national bird, gracing us with its inspiring and patriotic presence as we stood united against tyranny.
(It should be obvious, but since reality has become more absurd than satire: The first two images are real, cropped from a photo I took at the Hennepin County Library. The third image is a little joke. The sign is spelled correctly and the eagle has the correct number of talons, because I didn't use AI tools.)
Back to the topic at hand - protesting.
You should do it.
Yes, seriously.
Yes, you.
We saw hundreds of signs, and the vast majority of them were hand-made. It is a vitalizing thing to witness so many local people fed up and fired up, and making the decision not to remain silent about it. These folks put ink to cardboard, and put themselves on the streets along with their words. You don't need a sign, you don't even need to chant. Just being there means you are literally standing up for what is right.
Posting online about the harm being done by the fools in power is all well and good, but our message has to exist in the real world too. (I do see the irony in blogging that. Have no fear -- I give this same advice to people I physically interact with.) There is a big difference between scrolling past a political op-ed
headline and driving by your community members and neighbors lining
the streets in protest.
We met and chatted face-to-face with many people from our area, including our state senator. Living in a democracy, for real, means having nonzero contact with your representatives. That is its own entire topic unto itself, but the point here is that we were all actively being each other's community. For us it was a boost to run into the lady from the ballot sheet, and for her it was a boost to see so much engagement from her constituents.
Every
supportive honk was met with cheers. The occasional Trumper driving
back and forth with their mass-produced lawn sign and their windows
rolled up, was peacefully booed and mocked. Living in a democracy means we the people have a responsibility to participate in local and national politics. It means protesting, it means debate. It means showing support, it means showing resistance, and it means showing up.
What did we mean to accomplish?
Why did we bother?
Are the Muskrat and Dictator Don and the forgettable third stooge going to see that millions of citizens have gathered to speak out against their kleptocracy, and suddenly change their ways? Are the oligarchs going to see the crowds of Americans who are not okay with oligarchy, and then just give up?
Of course not.
This is about those freaks, but it's not for them. It's for us. It's for everybody. It's for the neighbors as they drive by - they know first-hand that they live in a politically-active community, a neighborhood where people care about each other. It's for anyone who catches even a few seconds of the news coverage; citizens in every state organized these protests. 1400+ locations, 3,000,000+ people. It's for the many folks who still somehow think that they "don't have any political stance". It's about standing up for good, and standing up against evil. That's not politics, that's basic human decency. It's real, if (and only if) we make it real, with our selves.
The bajillionaires eagerly participate in setting up and/or burning down the agencies and laws that make up our nation. What's good for them is bad for literally everybody else. So, if we want to live in a country we can admire or take pride in, we non-bajillionaires need to participate too. The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing. This time right now, this is that.
If you've attended protests, rallies, or marches before, keep doing so.
If you haven't, make it a point to go to one.
Do it for yourself; do it for all of us.
Finally, it appears there's one more update on the bald eagle who joined us at the protest. All that talk of the weaselly Musk-rat appears to have made it hungry:
