Why we protest: To protect democracy

 by Barbara Jatkola, Jaffrey

• Jul 11, 2025

 Recently, as a friend of mine was “standing out” for democracy, a man she was acquainted with approached her and asked what she hoped to accomplish by standing there that day. After she responded, he moved on and asked another person what kind of example they thought this type of action was setting for our children. 

I imagine a lot of people wonder why I and others choose to stand out. Most of us, I think, do so because we believe our democracy is under attack by the Trump administration and Republican governors and legislators throughout this country. We think their actions and policies, including the “big beautiful” budget bill (now law), are threatening our civil and constitutional rights, destroying our social safety net, dismantling our government’s infrastructure, and making a mockery of the rule of law. 

We believe it’s our civic and moral duty to stand up and speak out against these attacks. By standing out, we hope to alert others who may not be tuned in to what is going on in our federal, state, and local governments and to encourage them to join us in defending our democracy. 

As for what kind of example standing out sets for our children, I say, “Exactly the right kind of example!” The founders of our nation and patriots throughout our history have fought hard to achieve equality for all people and to defend the rights and freedoms laid out in the Declaration of Independence in 1776: 

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” 

Standing out and standing up for democracy are acts of patriotism. Those of us engaged in these endeavors cherish the ideals expressed in the Declaration and Constitution, and we intend to do everything we can to prevent them from being destroyed.