Let’s light the spark by Barry Rosenbaum

I’ve attended two recent protest rallies challenging the coup orchestrated by Trump and Musk, one in downtown Los Angeles and the other at the Space X headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Both attracted hundreds of demonstrators, with diverse but interrelated messages best captured by the sea of signs.

Similar protests have been occurring regularly across the U.S. from the beginning of this wretched administration through this past weekend.

However, I continue to be troubled that our opposition to this madness is proceeding far too slowly given the magnitude of this constitutional crisis.  As Senator Chris Murphy recently said in an interview with NBC News Politics Desk:

When somebody is trying to grab power, when somebody is trying to destroy democracy, they benefit from people who are static, who refuse to be nimble…This moment is different, this threat is unique — and to me, you know, we don’t have another year to fight this attempt to destroy democracy. Our democracy might be gone in six months.

When South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late last year, thousands of protestors immediately flooded the streets of Seoul, even though the Yoon’s declaration prohibited demonstrations. Now that is being nimble. Given that show of determination, coupled with the forceful legislative response, Yoon’s declaration of martial law ended one day after it was declared — and he was impeached ten days later. 

We certainly have been much slower to respond in the numbers necessary to demand and force a radical course change. However, our history is replete with examples of a single spark leading to an explosion of activism. I don’t know what that spark will be this time and who will trigger it, but I’m all in. It’s not too late, but as Senator Murphy succinctly articulated, putting our hope in the midterm elections alone could be a delay we simply cannot afford. Participating in electoral politics is necessary but not sufficient. 

With that in mind, I will be attending this Saturday’s  International Women’s Day Protest and Rally in Los Angeles. I hope everyone can try to attend a similar event in your area. Let’s help ignite that spark and call on our leaders in Congress to do the same. 

We need an eruption of activism that will change the world.