No Kings Day - 2

A celebration, a message, and a tragedy.

I live in the small city of Grand Junction, CO . Population about 65,000. A purple town in a dark red county. Yesterday some three THOUSAND people turned out to voice their support for American democracy. It was certainly a morning of both camaraderie and joy. You’ve heard me suggest that we all fly the American flag. It doesn’t just belong to the far right. It belongs to all of us. So it was really super nice to see so many people flying American flags. Somewhere tiny flags on dainty sticks, others were full size. And there were hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them. It felt like a day when America felt like America again.

I saw five or six Grand Junction law-enforcement officers. They presented as smiling, peaceful and friendly and did not have an assault rifle slung across their shoulders. I chatted with a couple of them and I asked one of them where the Marines were, he was really taken back and asked me if I was serious. I wasn’t, of course. And then I took some joy showing him that at least one Marine had showed up.

I took joy in the many zany and creative signs that people – from very young to very old – had come up with.

I was especially pleased to see that America seems to understand that the accelerant… the fuel in all of this is the racism and the animosity that Trump has used so well to turn us on each other. Politicians understand divide and conquer.

Officer Friendly

And other photos from around our country were creative and awesome.

Right in the middle of all of this, the sad came news that four people in Minnesota - two married couples - two of which were state law makers, had been shot. One couple died. It’s easy to presume that these Democratic lawmakers had been specially targeted and that the day of nationwide, anti-Trump protest had been specifically chosen. The shootings show exactly the reason why the MAGA extreme right has to go. But in the afterglow of yesterday that’s all I am going to say. I will not devote time to the MAGA extreme on this day that belongs to those of us fighting what General Milley referred to as fascism. The shooter was created or at least fertilized by the person No Kings Day was all about. Maybe another time. But not today.

And if you are in a position help us not only continue doing what we do, but to do it better and to do more of it, anything helps.

And an un-related Special Request: I’ve been cranking out these posts for over 4 years. The mission has always been to help America understand America’s Thing With Race in order that readers would gain the information they needed to have to have a civil conversation – one that might plant a seed that might someday blossom into a change agent. One of our core beliefs continues to be that if you want to change the way people (and countries and politicians) act and behave, you have to change the way you talk. Coming at people with either anger or passion changes no minds. It just drives then deeper into their beliefs.

So 4 ½ years in, I’m asking for your feedback. I would like to know what you, the important cog in all of this, would like to see in these pages. We need to make a difference because clearly the country cannot go on like this. Please drop your thoughts in the comments section below where I hope it leads to discussion. If you don’t want others to see them, email me directly. wayne@thecivilconversationsproject.org

And a final Special Request: We ask you on a regular basis to share these posts. Today I am asking you to share these post with your right-leaning friends. As the sign proclaimed and as I have written: It's not right versus left, it's right versus wrong.

We can do this.

Thanks.