The Power of Holding Hands and Standing Strong

 

by Pa Rock

Malcontent

(An aside:  Eisenhower was President while I was in elementary school.  As with our current President, Eisenhower was a Republican who liked to play golf, but that is where the similarities end.  Ike was not nuts.)

There was a game we played on the school grounds at recess when I was in elementary school.  The game was called "Red Rover," and it involved two lines of children holding hands and facing off against each other.  Each line took turns  sending one of its members to crash through the other, an action that could only be stopped if the children in the opposing line held hands so tightly that they prevented the break in their unity.   While I failed to capture the excitement of the game in this choppy paragraph, it was a fun activity nonetheless - and one of our primary"learnings" from the experience of playing "Red Rover" was the power of holding hands. 

This past Friday evening at the beautiful John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, thousands of people gathered in peaceful protest of Donald Trump's petty political machinations to get his name on that building, an honor he has not earned and does not deserve.  The event was officially titled "Hands Around the Kennedy Center," and at one point during the outdoor event many of the peaceful protesters linked hands and formed a protective line around the structure.  It was very symbolic of the attendees' love for the venue and their strong desire to protect the it from the wrath of a Mad King. 

NBC News set the scene thusly in its report on the protest:

"The Kennedy Center Board which is aligned with the president, voted Tuesday to close the center indefinitely for repairs hours after U.S. District Judge Chrisotpher Cooper blocked their plans to return Trump's name to the building.  On Thursday, the judge ordered the Kennedy Center to provide 30 days' notice before making any major physical changes to the building, including demolishing it."

Organizers of the protest event noted to press attendees that Trump had ordered the East Wing of the White House demolished without anyone's approval, and there is a real fear that if left unchecked, he would also take out the Kennedy Center to avenge his wounded ego.

But the protesters who turned out Friday night said that a line has to be drawn to stop Trump's assault on the culture and beauty of our nation's capital, and they declared that they are that line - and their hands are linked in solidarity.  They will prevail!

Stand strong, America!