Peacefu Peaceful Protest

When I first stepped into my AP government class this past September, my teacher asked us to raise our hands if we would be able to vote in the next election. As I put my hand in the air, along with a few of my other classmates he said “Good. You are in charge of history now” and I could not help but feel excited. Fast forward to this past weekend, and I felt as if history was truly happening right in front of my eighteen year old eyes. January 20th history was made in a peaceful transfer of power and on January 21st, history was made in a peaceful form of protest as people stood up for what they believed in around the world. I was so proud of the 470,000 women in Washington D.C. and the 750,000 people in Los Angeles, but I was not at all surprised. They have not always been peaceful, but protests have been a part of American history even before the 1st amendment was brought into existence. Peaceful protest is not only a demonstration about certain issues, but a demonstration of the best parts of a free society.

One of my good friends traveled to D.C. to participate in the march for life, and protests have begun in airports around the country as Trumps immigration orders come into action. While many of these marches come from different sides of the issues they are protesting for, they share commonalities in their approach: they believe in using their voices and their numbers to prove their point, not weapons and hate. These kinds of protests allow American voices to be heard, and opinions to be shared in a constructive matter. Citizens freely exercise their constitutional rights in a way that representatives are forced to respect and acknowledge. These kind of protests allow for a dialogue about an issues to take place in our country and can only benefit our society whether through legislative change, or free discussion about the