My husband and I are homebodies, but we traveled to Washington D.C. to participate in the April 5th “Hands Off” mass mobilization at the capital. We wanted to stand up for democracy and help protect vulnerable people and valuable programs.

At the National Mall, one military veteran told us she served for 11 years and worked many overtime hours but never put in for overtime pay. She expressed feeling extremely hurt by being called “a wasteful government employee.”

Why would a president disrespect military members and other dedicated civil servants?

I think it’s because he is a completely corrupt con man who is very good at shifting attention away from his dangerous and destructive actions.

Millions of people are fighting back.

On April 5, there were peaceful protests in 1,300 locations in the U.S. and abroad, with about three million participants. In Marquette, more than 3,000 people stood up for democracy!

WE THE PEOPLE are succeeding at pushing back against the corruption at the capital.

I heard that the “Hands Off” protests helped Harvard University decide to defy the president’s edicts.

I believe the president, and his wealthy cabal, are trying to pull off an administrative coup to steal democracy away from the people of this country, like Orban did in Hungary in 2010.

The U.S. courts are doing a pretty good job of keeping the executive branch in check but congress is not: they are letting the president destroy fundamental democratic norms.

It is up to us, WE THE PEOPLE, to stop the president and other extremely wealthy people, who are out of control and drunk on power, from continuing to wreck what we care about and steal from us all.

My husband and I were aware that protesting at the capital could result in personal harm. Reading Abraham Lincoln’s words, honoring the fallen at Gettysburg in 1863, at the Lincoln Memorial the day before the protest, confirmed our resolve that fighting for democracy is worth the risk:

“…….that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain ~ that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom ~ and that government of the people by the people for the people shall not perish from the earth.”

Will you please help this country remain The Land of The Free?

One way to resist is to join indivisible.org, a grassroots democracy organization. There is a local chapter: Lake Superior Regional Indivisible, lsrindivisible.org, that meets on Tuesday nights, along with a coalition of other groups, at 7 p.m., at LoveMarq Church, 728 W. Kaye St., Marquette.