Courtesy of wikipedia.org
Last Saturday, I stood in the pounding rain with 160 protesters. An occasional wind gust blew back my rain hood, adding to the midwinter chill. Unlike the protesters in Minneapolis, those of us lining the street didn’t suffer freezing temperatures, but we shivered enough to feel heroic. To our credit, none of us abandoned our post until the demonstration was over.
As the country slips toward autocracy, each of us feels an obligation to object. We are obliged to join our voices with those across the country, because institutional leadership has failed us. We hear nothing from the elites. Nothing from our elected leaders or universities. Little from the media. The people must lead.
Not trained as warriors, we use the weapons at hand: Our voices, our songs, our humor, our common sense. And we have much injustice to oppose, even in the highest court in the land. According to one news source, the Supreme Court seeks to gut the rule of law. The high court approved the dismissal of thousands of federal employees, massive cuts to research funding in health and education, and the demolition of USAID; it allowed the U.S. military to bar transgender people.
We must also struggle against Doge, the President’s special agency that has fired thousands of essential workers who protected our private data. Some of its cuts appear to have weakened the basic oversight functions. One Doge worker admitted, for example, that he signed an agreement that may have involved using Social Security data to match state voter rolls. The Wall Street Journal adds that plans are underway to surveil the tax returns of Democratic Party donors. (“The Price of American Authoritarianism,” by Steven Levitsky et al, Foreign Affairs, Jan/Feb 2026, pg. 34)
Using IRS data to invade personal privacy invites unimaginable abuse. We’ve seen how Trump uses the courts to cudgel his enemies. Senator Mark Kelly and 5 other Congressional leaders have had to defend themselves against the spurious charge of quoting military law. If that complaint can make it to the court docket, what offenses might force each of us to “lawyer up”?
Fortunately, States’ Rights affords some shelter. In response to ICE violence in Milwaukee, Minnesota state officials filed a lawsuit to hold those federal agents accountable in state courts. Soon after, the federal government announced it would withdraw most of its troops from the area.
The people of Minnesota justified the faith of our forefathers, as placed in “WE the People.” Not only did the men and women protesting in the streets of Minneapolis exemplify the revolutionary spirit, but they also rededicated themselves to the principle of liberty and justice for all.
Next Saturday, no matter how foul the weather, you will find me standing on a street corner, waving my protest sign, buoyed by Minnesota’s leadership. I know I won’t be alone. My greatest hope is that more will come.
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