I forgot to take a selfie. That didn’t matter. I found myself in other determined and bright faces. I will remember standing there on the Capitol steps, as I remember standing against the Vietnam war and for civil rights. Flags of all kinds waved bravely in the cool, crisp wind and warm sun. The numbers were too vast to take in with my camera, eyes, mind or heart, but somehow putting all those words on all those signs seemed to loosen their grips on our aching souls. In bold and clever paint, blunt reality replaced promising lies. Creativity built camaraderie. Terrifying boogeymen became hilarious. Profound and profane words worked together for good. Scribbles on cardboard and works of art danced on sticks held high above 25,000 heads. Heads dizzied with cognitive dissonance, anger, and fear were welcomed into a community of kindness, clarity, action, and hope. They – WE – four million people across America and overseas – called out cruelty, corruption, and corporate control and called for compassion and rule of law.
