By Bob Busch

My wife and I have attended several protests this year and expect to participate in many more. Along with writing to our representatives in Congress, protests are a way we express our displeasure with the state of our nation. The protests have been well attended. We have been cheered on with celebratory car horns and extended hands with thumbs pointing up. Surrounded by like-minded people is heartening, liberating, and just plain fun. There are always a lot of smiles and laughter. Counter protesters have been scant or non-existent.

Many of our friends and associates wonder if standing on a street corner holding a clever sign does any good. It does. Or rather, it does collectively. The more of us who gather in one place to demonstrate our outrage, the greater the impact. It is like the degree to which your purchases affect the economy. You buy groceries, clothing, gasoline, pay your water, sewer, and electric bills, and your taxes. All these activities support the local economy and, when summed up, are part of our country’s GDP.

However, one’s meager purchases are a minor thing. Would your local grocery, restaurant, or utility suffer if you, hermit-like, bought nothing, traveled nowhere, or streamed no movies? Probably not. It would very slightly diminish the seller’s income. Similarly, one person, standing on a street corner holding a sign, voicing complaints at the state of the world, will be ignored and dismissed as a crank. But two, three, or four people marching, holding signs, and screaming objections will gain more attention. Dozens, hundreds, and thousands of people crowding in one location cannot be easily ignored.

That is the point. Protest so that those in power, those who can do something about the misguided direction of our nation, will be fearful not to act. To get to that point requires masses of people. The weight of change must be so large as to overcome the intransigence of power. Some political theorists estimate that effectively dissuading bad behavior requires bringing 3% of the population into the streets. I think that is excessively high, but the more the better, and from my experience, the more the merrier. Importantly, it requires the participation of you, your children, parents, friends, colleagues, and everyone who craves change. If nothing else, one has no right to complain if one doesn’t do something about it. Protesting is doing something. Join us!