Protests

On Saturday, 28 March, a massive peaceful protest is planned nationwide. Cities throughout the nation and even smaller towns and counties, are planning location(s) for their protests. Please search for the location of your nearest protest location and try to attend.

Why, you may ask, are people protesting? What are people protesting? Each of you may have your own reasons for protesting our current situation. Though you probably already know what you would protest if you had a voice, I’m going over some of the situations in our country which inspire a protest.

Inflation is a serious problem. Price of fuel—gasoline at the service station, diesel fuel for the trucks which haul food items to retail grocery stores, natural gas and fuel oil which heat many of our homes in winter—have increased significantly over the past months. The ongoing conflict
against Iran and its Middle East allies will bring further increases to energy costs. Sporadic tariffs cause fluctuating prices on imported goods, most of which do not go back down if the tariff is reduced or removed entirely, primarily because the president reinstates the tariffs on his personal whims.

The president’s imposing trade barriers on select countries has caused grief to numerous farmers growing soybeans and corn which at the time for planting they expected to export to Asian countries, especially China. President Trump banned such exports to frustrate Chinese leaders, but China turned to Argentinian growers to replace their supplies. Crops harvested last year and in storage facilities in the US did not ship to China, but remain in storage, not bringing in revenue to the farmers who grew the crops. Now the farmers are facing full storage facilities as they decide whether or not to plant this years’ crops. No planting means no harvest which means no income. On the other hand, planting may be wasted as the harvest may come with no storage facilities available to receive the harvest; those facilities still have last year’s crop in storage.

Farmers in other areas of the nation depend upon migrant labor, much of it from beyond our borders. The president’s immigration policies have targeted so many workers regardless of whether they are legally here, that farmers in California, Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, and perhaps more states, face challenges to get their fruit and vegetable crops harvested, and even planted and cultivated.

ICE agents have been operating beyond the pale of legality by wearing masks, by kidnapping individuals participating in non-violent demon-strations, and by holding them without contact to legal representation or family members. At times, these people are transported to other states and held in detention facilities prior to deportation to other countries; some have been deported. These actions by the federal authorities have led to citizens rallying to express disagreement with the government’s actions.

Constitutional requirements specify that the US Congress declare war, not the executive; other constitutional requirements reserve powers not specifically given to the federal government to reside in the individual states. Sending units of the United States government, including the
armed forces, into states without the request of the respective states’ governors is unconstitutional.

There are numerous reasons to join in the protest demonstrations this upcoming Saturday. I urge you to join me, protesting in your hometowns, cities, etc. I will mount some photos I take on my website, https://jamesfarmercartwright.com. I will gladly mount some of your photos if you wish. Click on “Comment” on the first page. Put any photographs in jpeg format.

Another comment. A while ago, I referenced a discussion between Joyce Vance and Shelley Abrams. The conversation is titled “The Pernicious Myth….” on Civil Discourse.