The words of a Maga supporter can be quite telling. There isn’t a lot of need to hide, they can just express and defend their beliefs all day long. Meanwhile in what remains a dystopian civil society people are being bombarded by propaganda, the likes of which we haven’t seen so blatantly on display since the 50’s and 60’s. I am not going to sit here and let you believe I think racism didn’t exist before the 60’s. The research is there, the horrific reality is there. 

I only want to examine all the changes and fight that went into the signed, Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Act was created because our society was remaining split, and racism and discrimination were rampant. Both of those realities have always been with us, just not as predominately as they are again in our society today. That racism, call it discrimination or MAGA syndrome affects our entire population. There are children growing up today to believe that smearing one another’s culture is ok, again. It’s not, it is frightening in whatever city, neighborhood, town meeting you attend. And it’s all at the behest of an individual in our country who holds all the cards or is at least postured that way so the people in his power are destroying our mosaic.

I’ve listened and watched things happen in Minneapolis that to me are frightening. I can’t imagine the reaction of a tender aged child being ripped from his father’s grasp, and then later left in the hands of strangers until he and his father could be returned home again. That trauma for that child and adults alike will not go away. It happened and they are now asked to live with its violent nature. This is not America. This is living in a police state. This is living in a world where the invasion of our freedoms are being questioned and being actively scrutinized.

I have a family that actively protests every day. They live in the city, the neighborhoods where the actions are taking place. They step out the door to protect the world they choose to live in that is being daily assaulted by the belief and implementation of DHS and ICE incentives. When will it stop? Recently, it is being said that officers are being removed from the twin cities, but I don’t believe it. It doesn’t seem the abuse is over, there still seems to be activity that goes against our freedoms in America.

I’ll continue to struggle with what is the reality of our current state of the country. In Minneapolis, we are at the epicenter of change. Our reaction has been forceful in its peaceful stance. We need to build on that principle so it will impact the mid-terms in less than a year.