We came to this place in strollers and wheelchairs. We came in
all shapes, all sizes and all colors. We came not in the hundreds or
the thousands but in the hundreds of thousands. But we came as one
heart.
The march in New York City was no different from the one in Washington or Boston, no different in the largest of cities or the smallest of hamlets. It was comprised not of man or woman, not of black or white, not of rich or poor. Its very being was in the idea that this nation was going to fight for the rights and privileges long fought and richly deserved. The resolve that no despot was going to impose his will upon this nation and bring it to its knees. The belief that when we joined hands we were forever strong and formidable. The unshakable determination that one flawed election could not and would not mark an inevitable destiny for this nation.
There are wrongs committed upon us by those who should know better, those to whom we entrust our care and the care of this planet. There are lives to be protected, rights to be safeguarded, victories to be preserved and defeats to be reversed. There are voices that need to be heard, tears that require solace and pain that must be tended.
Each step on this route was taken not with my feet but by the waves of people who descended on this place in common cause, by those throughout our country who cried out, by those throughout the world who marched arm in arm with me today. There was a tidal wave of emotion, a tidal wave of sound, a tidal wave of humans demanding humanity in its best sense be preserved.
And Mr. Trump should understand that we will not disappear because he refuses to see us, we will not be quieted because he refuses to hear us, we will not go gently into the night because he has made it dark. For we will march today and tomorrow and for as many days and nights as we have to, for there is no other way. One heart, one head, one foot in front of the other, we move inexorably forward.
8 comments:
Hi There NYC,
Reporting directly from Santa Rosa City Hall:
The Santa Rosa March was at least 4Xs the size they had planned for! More than 4,000 people! This, in spite of the fact, there were Marches in nearby Sonoma and Napa. Will hear exactly how many more on the news tonight. It rained hard on us at the beginning! In spite of the rain, as we were leaving, many more people were still arriving! Marches all over the globe, too - over 600 world-wide!
Some favorite signs: "Now you really upset Grandma!”; “I’m 92! I can't believe I still have to fight for these rights”; "Not going' back to the 50s”; an alleged Biblical quote ”Keep your hands off my reproductive Rights… Fallopians 21” , one with the word Trump vertically, intersecting with Putin horizontally, within an “Iron Cross” reminiscent of Nazi symbolism and then the predictable, “This Pussy strikes back!”, etc. The crowd was well behaved and polite the whole time we were there. The emphasis was on unity until one young Hispanic on the speaker’s platform ended by shouting “Viva La Raza!” understandable, but not exactly uniting…
D
Wow. Sad to have missed this! But, unfortunately, I'm sure there will be many more opportunities to stand up!
A
Some fave NY signs: "Orange is the new stupid", "I'm not a sore loser, I'm an informed citizen"; "I'm with her" with arrows all around it and most powerful chant of the day: "This is what democracy looks like"
That particular chant has strong echoes of Occupy Wall Street for me.
Beautiful. I love how you worded this. Yes, one heart, for sure. Let us move forward with an ever-expanding heart.
So well expressed. All of this positive energy must funnel down to maintaining real resistance by communicating on a regular "in-your-face basis" to all members of Congress that the nation is depending on them to do the right thing. Democrats and Republicans need to know of the consequences of doing the wrong thing. As the saying goes, 'democracy is not a spectator sport'.--RE
I was there too. It was surprisingly very civil despite occasional ugly sentiment. Afterward, I remarked to my 19 year old daughter, the fact that so many people can peacefully assemble to protest, to express their dissatisfaction, in short, to dissent, is truly what makes America great. This is not permitted in nations ruled by despots, and the use of that term and other irresponsible rhetoric by those on all sides, like “Burn down the White House” is antithetical to the ideal of national unity.
JE
In addition to Francis Bacon's observation that the human intellect is comprised of three elements: reason, memory and imagination, each of which clearly you have mastered, I think needs to be added the dimension of emotion, which I think is the source from whence poetry springs. You certainly know how to tap into that as well. Your blogs are really inspiring and smart, and often very beautiful.
GB
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