Can You Hear Me Now

I think there’s a weapon of cynicism to say, ‘Protest doesn’t work. Organizing doesn’t work. Y’all are a bunch of hippies. You know, it doesn’t do anything,’ because, frankly, it’s said out of fear, because it is a potent force for political change.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

I have been to a lot of rallies over the years, but the one that made the biggest difference in my life is one that I did not actually attend. The year was 1970. Nixon was president, America was deep into the Vietnam War, and the Woodstock generation was flexing its political muscle. It was also the year of the first Earth Day. I was only 11-years-old on its birthday, but my oldest brother was a 20-year-old student at Arizona State University and he witnessed the start of a nationwide movement against the destruction of the environment.

Richard still lived at home and since our house had more children than bedrooms (three bedrooms for six kids), I shared a room with him and our brother Bob. Despite being too young to be there myself, Richard came home filled with stories about what he saw and how it effected him.

I cannot remember most of what he said that day, but I recall the fervor in which he said it, and his excitement quickly became my excitement. Hearing his stories and reading the fliers ignited a spark in me and from that day on I knew that I wanted to make a difference in the world. Whether it was helping to end a futile war, fighting for human rights, or working towards a cleaner environment, I felt it was my responsibility to make my voice heard.

The first protest I attended in person was a teachers strike at Loloma Elementary School. I remember walking the picket line with my favorite teachers and shouting whatever slogans they happened to be shouting. I can’t exactly tell you what the strike was about, but I figured that if Miss Clark thought it was a good thing, it was a good thing.

I cannot even begin to count the number of rallies and marches I attended since that day, but it’s a big number. Fighting for peace, equality, equity, and justice have all become essential to my self worth. I express it in everything from the products I purchase to the church I attend. It’s not something I can compartmentalize or conveniently set aside. It’s who I am.

Linda and I stopped vacationing in Florida because of their repressive government. We refuse to spend money in a place that openly embraces authoritarianism.

It Never Ends

It’s 2025 and you would think that the battles we fought and won would allow us to take a breather, but that is so far from reality. In 2020, the far right members of the Supreme Court were able to overturn 50 year’s of precedence and strip women of their right to choose. Immigrants are being sent to foreign prisons without the due process that is guaranteed to everyone living in this country. Dedicated civil servants are being demonized. Voting rights are being degraded. My gay and transgender friends are being dehumanized. Our National Parks are being defunded. Science has been thrown out the window and replaced with crackpot conspiracy theories. Education is under siege.

Simply put, the current administration is attacking the institutions and norms that have been core to the United States for over 250 years.

Even worse, a majority of American voters asked for this. There was no doubt that Trump is an unhinged authoritarian and yet they were able to set that aside in the hope that prices would go down. Spoiler alert, they haven’t.

What Has it Gotten Us?

Some would say that protesting doesn’t do any good and I must admit that there have been days of despondency when even I questioned my conviction. It’s demoralizing to see the progress we’ve made turned on its head. We have been fighting the good fight for generations and what has it gotten us?

And that’s exactly the question one should ask. What has it gotten us? Not what have we lost. What are the successes that came from speaking truth to power. Off the top of my head I can name the following. I didn’t participate in all of these (a little too young for some of them), but I would have if I could.

• Women’s right to vote
• Same sex marriage
• The end of red-line housing restrictions
• A woman’s right to choose
• The desegregation of public schools
• The end of the poll tax
• The end of the Vietnam War
• The rise of the Pride Movement
• The removal of offensive names from public landmarks
• The renaming of professional and college sports teams

Those are big ticket items. There are plenty of lesser known victories. For example, folks here in Saint Paul banded together to demand equitable stops on our light rail system. The city was not going to put rail stops in the less affluent parts of town. We fought, our opponents fought back, and we won. Those stops are now providing much needed transportation for the people who need it the most.

I am sure that every community can lay claim to their own grassroots wins.

Pushing
pressing
raising your voice above the din and the clutter
making room for those deserving to be heard

Gone are the reasons for silence
scattered like dry leaves on a windy day
gone is the lamb, here stands the lion
roaring
stretching
fighting to be seen

I believe that marches and rallies can change peoples’ minds. I know of several Reagan/Bush/Romney Republicans who have had enough of this nonsense. Sometimes all they need is to discover that they are not alone to start taking their own stands. They wake up one morning and say, “This is not what I asked for.”

The margin of Trump’s victory was small and we only need to pull off a few people to turn our country around.

Eleven years ago, I recorded this video of Dick Gregory speaking at a rally to change the name of the then Washington Redskins — the source of the above photograph. What he says about why we protest is well worth ten minutes of your time.

Here is another spoiler alert. We won that fight.

Do Not Stand in my Way

This year alone I’ve joined with millions of like-minded people on four different occasions to let the world know that we are not going to sit this attack on democracy out. The price of our silence is too great. As the sign says, “Your silence will not protect you,” and we are anything but silent when we gather together as one.

I have many regrets in life, but I have no regrets about the times I marched and stood up for what I believe to be right. Battles will be lost, but we are playing the long game and working towards the big wins. The arc of change is beyond my comprehension, but I know that it bends towards justice.

I am not that naive to believe that marching and carrying signs are enough. I have doubled my monthly contributions to organizations such as the ACLU and Planned Parenthood (the money I would have spent on that Florida vacation). I make phone calls, send emails, and write letters to my elected officials. I talk to anyone willing to listen.

However, no matter how much money I give or how much time I spend calling and writing, standing with community will always be a necessity. I draw strength from knowing that I am not alone.

Congress won’t save us. The courts won’t save us. It’s up to we the people and nothing will change until we stand together and tell the world, “We will not stand for this.”

Thank you for reading.

Alone
I am little more than a random collection of words
connect them to expose my aspirations
my downfalls
my dreams, desires, fantasies, strengths
my weaknesses
my fears

But together
with your words and mine we become a poem
for the language of two is the verse and rhyme
of a tome far sweeter than any one soul could ever endeavor to write
alone