Can You Hear Me Now

Gotta get down to it
Soldiers are cutting us down
Should have been done long ago
What if you knew her and
Found her dead on the ground?
How can you run when you know?

Neil Young

It has been a little more than a week since Linda and I attended the No Kings Three rally at the Minnesota State Capital. To say that it was anything less than amazing would be an understatement. To be with more than 100,000 people committed to saying “no” to authoritarianism was both powerful and an honor. We were proud to be part of so many Americans who were willing to show up when they were needed.

Fun fact. This isn’t the first time I’ve written about my activism. For a few more glimpses, look here, here, and here.

Even though Saint Paul was the flagship event for The United States, No Kings Three was not limited to Minnesota. More than eight million people gathered across the world in at least 3300 sites — scattered across all 50 states and 7 continents.

As much as I love seeing photographs of tens of thousands of people marching and waving signs in places like Las Vegas and Seattle, I was just as thrilled to see these four frozen patriots in Antarctica. We are everywhere and we will be heard and seen!

Don’t Tread on Minnesota

Here in Minnesota, we were treated to moving speeches by the likes of Bernie Sanders (strong words, but a little too long), Jane Fonda, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minister JaNaé Bates, and Governor Tim Walz (my favorite of the bunch). I heard inspiration, motivation, love, willingness, and fortitude all afternoon long. It was impossible not to be moved by their words.

As good as many of the speakers were, the gathered multitude was completely blown away by performances by Bruce Springsteen, Maggie Rogers, and Joan Baez. As a man of a certain age, Joan Baez is both an icon and an inspiration to me. At 85, she doesn’t have the voice of her 20-something self and she can still sing with power and enthusiasm. Her performance alone made an already incredible event overwhelmingly memorable. This is despite the fact that she stumbled over the words to Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are a Changin’.

Poetry is the lifeblood of rebellion, revolution, and the raising of consciousness. Alice Walker

Many thanks to the organizers for the great sound system and jumbotrons. I have been to large rallies where it was nearly impossible to hear much of anything from the stage. This one almost felt like being at a rock concert — without the egos, drugs, and overpriced bottles of water.

I also want to give thanks to Mother Nature for gifting us such a beautiful day. I’ve marched in single digits and will take sunny and low 50s any day.

Lights, Camera, Action

I took videos of Bruce, Maggie Rogers, and Joan Baez — with a cameo appearance by Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello. Our jumbotron view for Bruce was a little blocked so Linda and I moved a closer to the screen for Maggie and Joan. In all cases, the sound was spot on and the energy contagious. They were two performances I will always treasure.

Get the fuck out of the way if you can’t lend a hand. Tom Morello

Reason to Believe

Of course, this wasn’t designed to be an entertainment event. Our country is in an illegal and immoral war, immigrants are being terrorized, citizens who stand up to tyranny are being killed, the rich are robbing the United States Treasury, social services have been slashed, dictators are being placated, the environment is under assault, institutions are being sued for embracing DEI policies, lies are replacing the truth, pardons are being doled out to Trump’s criminal friends, the unemployment rate is rising, prices are high, funding for health initiatives is being cut, and our longstanding global alliances are being destroyed. I would have been out there marching, chanting, singing, and shouting without Joan or Bruce. They were the icing on an all-together righteous cake.

Breaking new. In a video the White House regrets releasing, Trump announced his budget priorities. “We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of day care. It’s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare — all these individual things. They can do it on a state basis. You can’t do it on a federal.”

Clearly, his priorities are not with the American people — unless you count the military industrial complex as the American people. 

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

With so many people in attendance, it was hard to get good photographs from where we stood. Here are a few of the better ones I did manage to snap.

Keep on Marching

The day after No Kings Three I attended yet another rally against tyranny. The Palm Sunday March was sponsored by local churches and although it had a more religious tone, many of the messages were the same — feed the poor, love your neighbors, embrace justice, and end this senseless war.

I am not a Christian, but I was proud to stand in solidarity with my Christian brothers and sisters. I have not seen a headcount, but it was well over a thousand people — perhaps as high as three thousand. We were joyous and committed no matter what creed we did or did not practice. We sang many of the same songs as we did the day before. The signs, however, were less angry. There wasn’t a “Fuck Trump” to be seen.

As with No Kings Three, I wore my Paul Wellstone t-shirt. I acquired it decades ago when I marched in a parade with the late Senator. It only comes out for special occasions and I cannot begin to count how many people came up to tell me how grateful they were to see it. Paul would have been proud to be among us. Our battles would have been his battles.

So Is

If all it took was a record breaking number of people willing to show up and let their voices be heard, this battle would be over. We know better than that, though. Rallies are important. So are letters and telephone calls to your senators, congress members, and legislators. So are boycotts and donating to worthy causes. So is feeding and housing your at-risk neighbors, waving signs from bridges, joining a singing resistance group, volunteering to be an ICE observer, and having hard conversations with people who disagree with you. So is registering to vote and getting your butt to the polling station.

Put them all together and that’s how we win. That’s how we stop the madness before it’s too late. Join with me in whatever ways you can.

Thank you for reading.

Pushing
striving
facing each challenge with urgency and ache

Fighting
scrapping
believing in what you know and knowing what is right

Determined and firm
untiring and stout
this is desire without boundaries
this is passion without remorse

Don’t stand in our way