The No Kings 3 march and rally happened here in Greenfield on March 28, as well as in hundreds of other locations in and outside of the U.S. I was volunteering up the street at the weekly Stone Soup Café meal distribution and delivery operation, but did take a few minutes to walk up to the town common. It was great seeing so many enthusiastic folks participating, an estimated 3,500 adults and children making their messages heard and read. I wish that I could’ve stayed longer, but you know what they say about not being in two places at once!
After I was done at Stone Soup, sometime after 2 p.m., I walked back up to the common and was struck by how quiet it was, with barely anything to indicate that thousands had just been there a short while ago. Statements of discontent for the Trump administration had just been emphatically made, but now it was just a memory. If I’d been a stranger passing through Greenfield, I wouldn’t have known there had just been a gathering where I stood in the town center, and the messages would’ve been lost on me, almost like it had never happened!
Today is Monday, two days after all of the rallies, and nothing has changed for the Trump administration. What do they know about all of those millions of protesters, and what do they care, as long as they’re still where they were before Saturday morning? My hunch is not that much. And why should they, it’s not like the general population is revolting and their high and mighty positions are being threatened. I want to see Donald Trump gone as much as anybody. I hate listening to the nonsense and braggadocio coming out of his mouth every single day — it wastes my time and insults my intelligence! And I’m not even talking about his hateful and discriminative “executive orders.” We need change, as soon as possible, and now I’m fantasizing about how “we the people” could make it happen.
If the Trump administration didn’t get the message because they weren’t paying attention, maybe we need to bring the message to them. I don’t know how to organize something like this, but what if thousands and thousands of people, just like you and me, peacefully marched through Washington, D.C., day and night, carrying signs that read “WE WANT CHANGE,” and continued to do so day after day after day? It would require significant sacrifices for all of those marchers, some doing it for just a day or so, some for longer, and more coming from near and far to take their places. It would be like “we the people” were going on strike for better living conditions for everybody. Can you imagine it? I bet that the people in power wouldn’t have. As I hear in the news everyday now, it would be “unprecedented.” And if we kept it up long enough, it would be undeniable. How about that for getting their attention?!
I want change — oh boy do I want change — and I’m ready to do my part to make it happen. And yes, I realize that it’s not as simple as marching is going to make it all happen. But it’s not going to happen if those in power in Washington, D.C. don’t recognize that we have real power too, and not just at election time. We have our intelligence, we have our voices and strength and will power, and we don’t want to accept what we’re getting anymore.
Like I said before, I don’t know how to organize something like this, but I believe that if enough people started marching, and if enough of us were paying attention, then enough of us would recognize that this was for real and would join the effort. It would mean a massive commitment, and possibly great sacrifices, but at this point, what do we have to lose? Hey, if a dunderhead like Donald Trump could convince his followers to storm the Capitol building, couldn’t enough intelligent and dedicated people trying to save our democracy make their voices heard as well? I’m ready.
Russell Pirkot lives in Greenfield.