Fear vs Fight

Today there are No Kings protests happening all over the country. I have several friends and fellow church members attending our local gathering. I wholeheartedly agree with the protesters. I’m terrified of what’s happening to our country, The Make America Great Again believers are doing anything but making it great. Our country now lives in fear, never knowing who will be detained, taken or sent away. Our economy is reeling from rising costs and mass layoffs. Businesses are struggling as tariffs dissuade shoppers and workers are afraid to show up. Our standing in the world has plummeted as we are no longer trusted by our allies. Travel dwindles as other countries issue alerts stating travelling to the US is risky. Neighbor is turned against neighbor, family member against family member. Differing opinions line up along moral lines not just party lines. There is fear and confusion as the presidency leans into fascism and a dictatorship.

I agree with the protesters, but I didn’t join them. As part of a persecuted class, putting myself out when we have no idea what could happen is too risky. I asked my wife if she wanted to go and she said, “No way in hell!”. There are no guarantees that a peaceful protest remains peaceful. There is a real possibility that the two sides clash. Our mere presence may result in harassment or arrest. How do I put myself or my family at risk? Will participating put me on a watch list? Am I being paranoid or realistic? I’ve watched the news and seen the emails and posts advertising it and I want to be there, but I won’t.

I’m asking myself real questions. Should fear win? What is greater: fear of repercussions for protesting or fear of repercussions from not protesting? What can I do? I know one thing I can do: write! Write to the politicians that are supposed to speak for me. Write my blog posts. Pass on the writings of others on social media.

What can you do? Are you afraid? I won’t be a hypocrite. Our fears are valid. But we MUST do SOMETHING! We must stand up to the leadership of our country. We can’t give into our fears. Maybe we can’t do the protests, but we can support those that do. We can support the organizations that are standing up to Trump. We can support the politicians who are standing up to Trump. We can fight. We must keep up the FIGHT!

Photo by Payton Tuttle on Unsplash