Michael Mrowicki represents the Windham-4 district (Putney, Dummerston, and Westminster) in the state Legislature and is a longtime Putney resident.
PUTNEY-A 2-year-old held her dolly up to me, and I asked what her name was.
"Mine," she said.
Then she said, "Love," and she cuddled the doll.
Sums up my feelings for our country: "Mine," and "Love."
Especially these days, as we feel the threats to our ("Our") democracy and actions from the current president, even in Vermont.
We've seen workers grabbed from our streets, challenges to mail-in voting, and online misinformation from some entity calling itself the Election Integrity Network (a group started by Trump lawyer Cleta Mitchell).
Thankfully, recent elections have given some hope, and recent court decisions have put up some guardrails against the Trump orders/actions (and also amplified what incompetence their lawyers exhibit).
These glimmers of light between the ground and the heels of the jackboots from the masked armed hordes this president has unleashed on America are fanning the flames of hope.
Hope that we will get through.
And blowing on the coals of the heart of our republic (thank you, Archibald MacLeish, for those words I'm appropriating), the flame of liberty and justice for all will again illuminate this country. To make us the beacon of hope for the world, again. And the reason people continue to come here - and risk everything to do so.
* * *
Earlier this fall, I was invited and allowed to see some real profiles in courage in our brave little state. I was asked to accompany some fellow humans to the ICE headquarters in St. Albans.
Organizers of the action felt that having elected officials accompany them might discourage any inkling to make them disappear. Some clergy came, too.
It was effective in that, undocumented people came to the building for their scheduled check-ins as part of their respective journeys to U.S. citizenship. They were released - not detained.
Here were people who put themselves at considerable risk and danger to come to this country. People who left their birthplace because things were so bad that undertaking an arduous and dangerous journey felt like the better option.
I hope it will turn out well for them. But until then, they continue to have to run the gauntlet to stay here, as they follow the process and protocols to become citizens.
Their courage and persistence left me inspired that we must continue to resist and to do all we can to let the current administration in Washington, D.C., know that their actions do not reflect the views of the majority of Vermonters and Americans.
The current president's election campaign - purportedly centered on lowering the cost of living - didn't include a vengeance tour and efforts to wreak terror on the streets of our nation with masked, armed, unidentifiable hordes.
This behavior will be addressed by the first bill that I, and others, will introduce regarding masks and identification, in next year's Legislature, upon reconvening in January.
* * *
Meanwhile, there's much we can do while so many are doing what they can. And it all helps.
As groups like Indivisible, 50501, and local affinity groups organize, they bring hope to many feeling deflated by the current president's actions. As locals also step up across Vermont and the nation to resist, to protest, and to provide food, rides, legal help, housing, and other supports, we are showing our mettle. And we are showing how the resistance looks and works in these times.
This is our nation. Our government.
We can feel as possessive as the little girl felt about her dolly, and we can show our love in that way for this way of life.
We are not letting go of the freedoms we find self-evident. We will not relent that we are all created equal and deserve equal treatment under the law, as Pope Leo has been reminding us lately.
We will overcome the incivility. The cruelty. The hoarding of resources that is passing for leadership from the current White House.
We the People will save democracy and our republic.
Whether you see us on the I-91 overpasses, in the ICE parking lot, or at the voting booths, in Vermont, this is what democracy looks like.
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