... And So We Marched...

Friday was a dreary day. Yes, it rained, but that's not why it was dreary, obviously. With Donald Trump becoming President, it wasn't just that everything President Obama did would be rolled back, it was that an unqualified, incapable, man-child became our President. A man who spoke cheerily of torturing people, sexual assault, deporting millions, arming the masses, and taking health care from the poor was rising to lead our nation. I'd offer that in my mind, we just inaugurated the worst human being to ever occupy the Presidency, and what makes it worse is that most of us didn't vote for him and didn't want him.

But, it happened anyway. Rather than sit down and quietly watch as he takes us down a road that the nation did not truly choose, millions of people decided to rise up. Now, I am no expert on estimating crowds, but by many measures, Saturday's women's marches nationally are the largest wide-spread demonstration or protest in American History. By many measures, including metro ridership and crowd-size estimates, the crowd in Washington, DC was larger than the inaugural crowd the day before. In New York they shut down blocks. In Chicago, the crowd was too large to march. Over 50,000 gathered in Philadelphia, and 25,000 more in Pittsburgh. Madison, Wisconsin had over 85,000. The display of power was remarkable. People chanted, they held signs, they made new connections to like-minded people, they gave speeches, and they made plans for moving forward.

Not all of us went to the "big" marches though. I went to Bethlehem, to Payrow Plaza at City Hall. Some estimated a thousand of us were there. Some said 800. Some said 500. I don't know, though if I had to guess, I'd say 800. It really doesn't matter though. It was the largest congregation of progressive minded people I have ever seen in the Lehigh Valley that didn't gather to support a candidate for President. See for yourself:

Apparently, the voices were heard loud and clear- at the White House. Apparently the President sent his Press Secretary out to lie about inauguration attendance because he was so upset about the coverage of his rather small crowd size, compared to the marches.

It's important to realize that a march is not a victory. Over the next six months or so, Donald Trump will sign many new laws that are going to be very depressing. The commitment of the marchers will be tested by the negativity they will face in the weeks and months to come. A Republican President and Republican Congress will govern as Republicans, and for many of the marchers, they will wonder if their efforts are worth it, as their voices are ignored.

But, it's a start.