This commentary is by David Moats, of Salisbury. He is an editorial page editor emeritus of the Rutland Herald, where he won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for a series of editorials on Vermont’s civil union law.
The “No Kings” protests planned for Saturday are likely to be huge. At the same time, Vermonters sometimes wonder if their expression of opposition to Trump administration travesties really matters. After all, we live in the Vermont bubble, as it is called, where opposition to President Donald Trump long ago established itself as safely conventional.
But for many reasons, it matters.
First, rallying in protest with friends and neighbors is a morale booster for participants. It is an uplifting reminder to ourselves that cruelty and authoritarianism will not go unchallenged, and it helps maintain the momentum of the movement.
Second, when Vermonters turn out by the thousands, they send a message to Vermont officeholders. Thus, Gov. Phil Scott knew that most Vermonters would support his view that Trump’s use of the National Guard to counter bogus threats was unconstitutional. Attorney General Charity Clark knows that Vermonters are likely to back her many lawsuits seeking to hinder the Trump administration’s lawless actions.
Third, activism in Vermont is a sign to people elsewhere that they are not alone. If protesters in Chicago or Portland, Oregon, encounter vindictive, punitive action, they will know that others are on their side.
Fourth, protests in varied regions around the country serve notice to the powers that be that opposition is widespread, present in all regions and all social classes, and is likely to grow, rather than fade, as their abuses worsen.
So as Vermonters prepare their placards and unfurl their flags for Saturday, they can reassure themselves that they are part of something large and important. The delusional rhetoric from Trump asserting that protesters hate America must be countered by demonstrations showing that to oppose authoritarianism is to express a deeply felt love for America and its democratic values.
At the same time, it is important for Vermonters to look beyond the bubble and not to bask too serenely in the glow of their own virtue. Among Trump supporters nationwide are millions whose views have been shaped by distorted news coverage and fearmongering online content. They hold their views honestly, even if their views have been shaped by the dishonesty of propagandistic news coverage.
On a rafting trip out West this summer, a family of Trump supporters was among our fellow rafters. There was little overt political discussion during our days on the river or in camp during the evenings — no one wanted to get into it out there where we were stuck with each other for six days.
But conversations that I overheard indicated that some of my fellow rafters viewed “antifa” — the antifascist activists who have had a presence in Portland, Oregon, among other places — and Black Lives Matter as serious threats to the social order. Trump’s incipient fascism or the racism that inspired Black Lives Matter did not seem as alarming to them as the disorder caused by liberal activism.
Yet some things were apparent to me during those days outside the Vermont bubble. My fellow rafters were not wicked people. They were good people. There was a large family group, including grandparents, offspring, spouses and grandchildren. They cared about each other and about us. Everyone hung together to make the rafting trip a success.
My sister, her husband and I may have been political outliers, but no ill will was in evidence. I was hoping that, if they sensed that our backgrounds or political leanings were different from theirs, they would see that we were good people, too. In a real sense, we were all in it together — in rafts together, in the waters of one of America’s wildest rivers together — and we were depending on each other.
In this moment of crisis, it brings to mind President Abraham Lincoln’s words on the brink of the Civil War: “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.”
Trump would have us be enemies. Instead, protesters on Saturday ought to recall how the fire hoses and police dogs of Alabama created new friends for the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
The dignity and composure, the joy and strength of the protesters won over far more people than acts of vandalism or anger on their part might have done.
The provocative and violent rhetoric of Trump and his henchmen have heightened the danger of public protest, but danger during the Civil Rights era was also extreme. Bombings, murders and beatings were everyday occurrences. Standing up to oppression was not easy, but ultimately, courage and faith in the rule of law frustrated the lawless oppressors.
Civility and joy among protesters on Saturday would be yet another step toward frustrating the demagogic program of the Trump administration. It won’t happen in one day, but over time, opposition to Trump could prove to be a massive unstoppable force.
Even within the Vermont bubble that is an important message to send.
