Song for this essay – For What It’s Worth – Buffalo Springfield (Stephen Stills)
Spirit
I am a terrorist. I hate America. I am, believe or not, against fascism. I guess that makes me ANTIFA (anti-fascist). At least, that’s what the President and his MAGA-Republicans in Washington are telling me. Next Saturday, many Americans will protest against the fascist/authoritarian actions of the Trump Administration. My family and friends and my spirit will be marching with them. The Republican leaders may call them terrorists and America haters, but those marching are acting in the spirit of America, as old as the Boston Tea Party, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
So let’s get a few of things straight. I’m working on Saturday, at an all-day Cross Country meet, and I will be unable to join the “No Kings” march here in Central Ohio. And that’s annoying, but a commitment I made months ago, before the march was announced. While I’ll wear the “black and white” of track official on top, underneath, nearer my heart, will be a “No Kings” T-shirt.
Petition
The government cannot makes laws, or act, against the freedom of political expression. They cannot make laws or act against the right to assemble. And, they cannot deny the right of citizens to petition the government for redress of grievances. If those words all sound familiar, they should. It’s the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, three of the five guaranteed restrictions on the Government (religion and the press are the other two). It’s the first thing the Founding Fathers added to the original document. So citizens gathering in the public “square”, speaking out against government action, and asking for change, are directly protected.
I participated in the first “No Kings” March last spring. It was a picture of America. There were “radicals”, who want dramatic change, even Socialists (Oh MY!!). There were little kids, running around in red-white-and-blue t-shirts. I saw lots of young folks who were driven to the street by the injustice they saw on their phone screens every night. And, there were a lot of “Boomers”, my generation. So what are all of those Medicare recipients doing out in the street, “…singing songs and carrying signs”?
Boomer Guilt
The answer is pretty simple. We know what America should be, and we know what America looks like right now. Us “Boomers” feel an obligation (and guilt) that the country we had so much hope for descended so quickly into the authoritarian abyss we see today. We owe the next generations a better place. Our country, that just a few short months ago seemed “…on the long arc of the moral universe, bending towards justice” is now bending backwards. We need to straighten that arc out, again.
And, deep in the “Boomer Memory” (maybe easier to remember than the location of our glasses, phone and car keys) are the marches of our youth. They (the Government) didn’t want us out in the streets then either, back in the 1960’s and early 70’s. We marched against a useless war, and called for political change. We wanted civil rights for all Americans, regardless of the color of their skin. We learned that civil “action” can lead to change, even with the most conservative leaders like President Nixon or Governor Rhodes.
Frogs
Really, I want to get a “frog suit” and join the protests in Portland. I want to dance in the streets in front of the ICE “agents” (are they really trained Federal officers, or just contracted thugs?). If that’s what ANTIFA does, I’m all-in. And if the Federal Government decides to attack the Frogs, as “dangerous interference with ICE operations”, then who is the real loser in that encounter? The frog dancers, or the bullies with zip-tie handcuffs, trying to bind frog-arms? Does Portland really need the National Guard to “put-down” a costumed protest?
In all seriousness, the United States is in crisis. The President is sending armed troops into American cities without the “consent of the governed”. Rumors of this Administration actually invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807, and using the regular US military in the streets of American cities, abound. The President chooses “crime” as his excuse for action. But “crime” is down in all of those cities, and, in fact, is “up” in Republican “controlled” areas. And what crime are the frog dancers committing?
Boiling
And there’s a whole scenario of Federal suppression of the First Amendment rights that seems to be on the table. It’s a “boiling frog” analogy: the more Americans get accustomed to seeing troops in the streets, cities governed by martial law, and direct Federal intervention, the more likely it is that those same troops will “protect” the elections in 2026. They’ll make sure that the vote is “protected” from opposition. Especially those costumed protestors mocking ICE in Portland. By the time the general citizenry realizes what’s happened, it might be too late. And then, democracy itself will be cooked.
October 18th is another opportunity for millions of Americans to “petition the Government for redress of grievances”. As Lincoln said, “It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this”. And if that threatens the MAGA-Republicans: maybe they should look closer at what they are doing to America.
“Something’s happening here…”
