This Saturday, Oct. 18, No Kings Day rallies will be held throughout the country. In Addison County, rallies are set in Bristol, Middlebury and Vergennes, as well as in nearby Brandon. Thomas Learmonth of Monkton notes the times of each event in his letter to the editor in today’s Addison Independent.

Why go?

Let Howard Jennings of Bristol tell you about the threats everyday Americans are facing. His son, a filmmaker and photojournalist, was documenting a protest in front of the Federal Building in Portland, Oregon during Trump’s first term (when Trump unwisely sent in National Guard troops and turned an everyday protest into a chaos with Guard members teargassing citizens and firing rubber bullets into the crowd. One bullet hit his son in the eye. Fortunately, his gas-mask took the blow and likely prevented the permanent loss of that eye, but the experience hasn’t faded.

The heart of Jenning’s argument is this: “It is widely known that Trump is building a case to invoke the Insurrection Act. The Act would allow him, unilaterally, to send troops to squelch dissent by American citizens anywhere he wants in the U.S. without the consent of Congress…. Let’s not mince words. If Trump succeeds in invoking the Insurrection Act, this declaration of martial law would be another major step deeper into dictatorship.”

Or consider Rev. Dr. Stephanie Allen’s comments in her letter to the editor. A pastor from Addison who has a far-reaching podcast heard in 56 countries and 401 cities, she asks, “Where do you look when the world seems dark?” An optimist, she believes most people want to do what’s right and what’s good, and that the good in people is far more sustainable than evil. In a well-reasoned argument, she encourages us to not “give up. Be invested in our world. Love people and look for the good… Be the light.” (The Young Republicans implicated in the hate-filled group chat — see editorial above — could benefit from such wisdom.) 

And there’s Spence Putnam’s letter in today’s paper demonstrating why public protests can yield positive outcomes. He encourages all Americans to stand up for their individual rights. 

Each of these letters, and more in today’s issue, are important to read. Trump and his clan have crossed the normal lines of political conduct and are seriously threatening our constitutional rights. Staying silent gives Trump the upper hand. Massive peaceful demonstrations against the police state he wants to impose, on the other hand, help preserve the freedom Americans cherish.

Angelo Lynn