I attended a protest last weekend. My friend organized it and I felt that it was important to go. I didn’t go with an intention per se, to shout or even hold a sign. Maybe it’s the writer in me, always looking for the story to tell; but I wanted to simply be there and observe and take in what’s happening in my town, in our country, right now.
A woman by the name of Helen joined our group. She didn’t know any of us; she saw the event on Facebook and decided to come out. Helen described herself as an “old hippie.” She’s seen it all, she said. She protested the Vietnam War. She was a student at Indiana State University at the time, studying business. She protested all over Indiana, Chicago, Florida, Ohio, and was even on the Kent State campus a few times. She’d travel to any city or state, mainly college campuses, to protest the war.
Here was Helen, in 2020, holding a sign and continuing to protest. I thought to myself, how does she keep the fight up? She would tell me there’s no alternative. I talked to her less than an hour, but I admired her strength, determination and perseverance.
I looked at her holding a sign, and then I looked over at Sophie clutching her sign as proud as she holds her convictions. And there I stood in the middle, quiet and observing. What was I doing? Did my generation miss its chance to stand proud and make a difference? (Quintessential Gen X dilemma)
The next morning, I tuned into Mary Chapin Carpenter’s “Songs from Home” and she sang a tune she hadn’t performed in many years: “The Times They are A-Changin.” About four days before, that same song played in an episode of “The West Wing” I watched. Twice in one week, this protest sandwiched between, I heard Bob Dylan’s ode to societal unrest of the 1960s. But this time, the following verse struck me in a way it hadn’t before and tears filled in my eyes:
“Come writers and critics who prophesize with your pen, and keep your eyes wide the chance won’t come again”
Dylan in his brilliant, poetic nature reminded me that I haven’t missed my chance. I’m just using a different form of expression.