On an April afternoon in a small Midwest town, I stood on the side of a busy street with around 500 of my neighbors and community members to protest the current administration and to defend democracy.
I’m not going to lie. I was afraid. Even knowing we would be peacefully protesting in a public space where we are allowed by law to congregate and express our opinions, it felt dangerous.
The reality of today is that people are being snatched off the streets and judges are being arrested. Plus, I live in a small blue dot in the middle of a large swath of red.
I deleted screen shots of funny memes and current facts from my phone. I wrote a phone number in sharpie on my upper arm in case I needed to contact someone with my one phone call.
I researched Articles 90 and 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and printed out small messages to explain to any police or military presence that they will only be charged with disobeying any lawful orders and providing the GI Rights Hotline number in case of need.
I disabled the location on my phone and logged out of all my social media. I made sure facial recognition and thumbprint were both turned off and couldn’t be used to open my phone against my will.
I removed my dangly earrings and necklace. I took a deep breath and I walked out the door.
When I got to the city park, I found our allowed protest area neatly marked off with ribbon and volunteers writing signs on posterboard for those of us who forgot to bring a sign.
I chose a sign that said “Freedom From Fear” and found a spot between the curb and sidewalk with my neighbors.
For the next two hours we held our signs high and waived at passing cars as they honked and cheered. It felt so empowering to be out in the world and with community members who feel the need to protect our democracy just like I do.
I saw a professor I recognized from the nearby university. I saw knitting and crafting friends. I met new people. We were university students and working families and retirees and young parents with babies and toddlers.
Someone handed me an American flag to waive along with my “Freedom From Fear” sign.
A veteran in a chair nearby along the line had a sign that read, “Hands off our democracy!”
Several versions of “No Kings” or “America does not have a king!” showed up in the signs. So did “Resist Fascism,” “Hands off my books,” and, “No one voted for Elon Musk.”
Every time someone chanted, “Show me what democracy looks like!” I shouted back, “This is what democracy looks like!” as loud as I could along with hundreds of neighbors and community members.
Standing along that line I realized I am not alone. A whole lot of other people fear for our democracy and do not like the actions taken in our names.
