Voices in the Square
Imagine if you will, the spectacle of crowds of ordinary citizens gathered across the land. From sleepy villages and hamlets to roaring metropolises, over five million Americans used the rights enshrined to them in the First Amendment to peacefully assemble to speak as one voice against would be tyrants and despotic oligarchs.
Whether it was aged grandfathers or proud mothers with children in tow or men in suits or students of all ages, there they stood to speak up for America and our imperiled Republic. They stood in peace, carrying no torches, waving no pitchforks. These citizens sought not to tear down the halls of government nor hang their oppressors but rather chose to wield what is perhaps one of the mightiest weapons in the arsenal of resistance: peaceful assembly and protest.
This oft forgotten right has proved crucial in not only preserving our sacred liberties but granting them to so many who have been denied those very same liberties guaranteed by our Constitution. Throughout our history, ordinary citizens have gathered in droves, not to wage war against the government, but to demand redress for those injustices perpetrated in perversion of our most sacred rights.
From the Silent Sentinels of the women’s suffrage movement to the Bonus Army of the 1930s, to the Freedom Riders and 300,000 who marched on Washington during the Civil Rights movement, to the ongoing peace vigils in front of the White House, hundreds of thousands have joined together as one voice in search of justice and freedom. The peace demonstrated by these men and women in the face of incredible violence perpetrated against them swayed even the hardest of hearts.
Yet with this right, we bear a great responsibility for there is ever danger lying in wait. We must not let our righteous anger burst into uncontrolled rage. It will take just one instance of violence perpetrated in the name of justice, for the iron fist of this president and his administration to come crashing down upon the people. Mr. Trump will not hesitate to utilize the full force of the federal government to crush any dissent and there will be no Mark Milley, Mark Esper, or William Barr to stop him this time.
The administration will no doubt downplay these protests aided by their loyal propagandists. This will prove the success of this day, but it is only the beginning. As the whole body of citizenry and as true patriots, we must continue to use every lawful weapon in our arsenal to resist and defend against our self-declared emperor and his minions.
Our strength is in our numbers. We may have been five million today but next week there will be ten million and the week after thirty million. As one we shall lift our voices and from our lips the siren song of freedom and justice shall burst forth. These men and women who seek to steal our rights, our freedoms, and our very way of life, shall not break us. We will be silent no more and together we will make this land one where there is truly ‘liberty and justice for all’.
Signed,
Boethius
