In part to battle the existential angst I've wrestled with since November and in part to feel solidarity with like-minded citizens, I went down to Civic Center Park in Denver yesterday to rally for Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez. We found comfort in upwards of 30,000 new friends and my daughter, Aden, who miraculously found us in the crowd. The message: Trump and his oligarch bros are stealing from us and from our country and they are ripping up the constitution to replace democracy with mob-style rule.
This message crosses all party lines and they (we) hope it appeals to anyone with common sense, who cares what happens to their neighbors. Neither party in our beleaguered two-party system is doing a good job of standing up for our rights and our inheritance as citizens - the Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare that we have paid into for all of our lives.
Consider that First Amendment rights are under attack on multiple fronts: activists who are legally in the United States have been arrested for saying things that Trump does not like. In Denver, immigrant and labor activist (and immigrant) Jeanette Vizguerra was arrested at her job in Target without a valid order of deportation. Jeanette was bound in chains and hauled off to the GEO - operated detention center in Aurora, her arrest occurring in front of her daughter who reported the agents said "we finally got you!'
Trump has sued CBS and ABC because he does not like the facts that they report. His new compadre Jeff Bezos announced that the editorial pages of the Washington Post could only cover certain topics, and his opinion section editor resigned in protest. We cannot assume that the attacks on free speech will stop there.
Our Fourth Amendment rights are also under attack. Trump wants his ICE agents to be able to enter homes without a warrant. Such an action has been (since the Constitution was amended with the Bill of Rights) illegal and would infringe on basic civil liberties. We need to wake up, talk to our neighbors and organize, and we need to do it now - or these changes will roll over all of us like a tidal wave and soon our peaceful and legal marches, rallies and protests will be under attack from this administration.
Our veterans, amazing men and women who put their lives on the line for this country in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, are having their services frayed by cuts made to the Veterans Administration. When Sanders pointed out the bravery that our troops showed in fighting to preserve our democracy, and the shocking way they (and our democracy) are being treated now, my stomach turned over. My father was in Vietnam with the Army and his exposure to Agent Orange most likely caused his terminal illness - I can't believe the cretins currently running our government think they can remove support for people like my dad.
One more thought to leave you with: last Saturday (March 15, 2025), Trump's administration defied a court order that says he could not deport Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador. Despite a back-and-forth between the judge and the administration over when, exactly, the planes took off it has been noted that the second plane took off after the order came down. Consider then what power the courts actually have if the executive branch ignores them? Our system of checks and balances is coming down around us - Trump is immune and his pardon power and shamelessness mean that his cronies are nearly so.
This news hurricane leaves us all depressed and dispirited, but now is the time to fight back. However you choose to participate, it's time to organize, or we will lose the form of government that has brought relative peace, prosperity and influence to our country for almost 250 years. Our government needs to change - we can all agree on that - but considered, thoughtful change, not a process that strips our government and sells it for parts.
