On Friday, while many Americans celebrated Independence Day with cookouts and patriotic parades, hundreds of planned protests against the Trump administration brought people together.
In reference to the spirit of freedom from tyranny and authoritarian authority that protestors characterized as their goal, many of the demonstrations were arranged under the flag of Free America. Protesters were steadfast in their purpose, even though the demonstrations had a generally joyous environment with dancing, music, and food vendors.
They cited a variety of issues, such as immigration raids, cuts to education, worries about democracy, and, more particularly, the enactment of President Trump’s comprehensive domestic policy bill, which lowers taxes for the rich and cuts safety-net programs for the poor, as reasons for their public appearance. On Friday afternoon, he was supposed to sign the bill.
U.S. Navy veteran Lynn Kardasz, who was at a protest in Chicago, said, “It’s our nation’s birthday, but I don’t think we are the nation that was founded almost 250 years ago.” Yesterday’s passage of Trump’s massive measure effectively ended our democracy.
Attending a protest in Houston, Mary Koch, 81, expressed her disgust with the administration’s deportation policy. She claimed that there is no due process and that people are being picked up on the streets. Bullying affects millions of people. She was carrying a heart-shaped sign that read, “Due process.”
The Women’s March website, which coordinated many of Friday’s demonstrations, listed over 300 events nationwide, including in smaller towns like Quitman, Texas, and Rolla, Missouri, as well as in larger cities like New York and Los Angeles.
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