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04/29/2025

04/29/2025

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

Into action

Rachel Maddow has spent the last few shows featuring results of many polls. Not one was able to show 47 in a favorable light. It appears that his first 100 days have done nothing but trample on people’s right to due process, strip our Federal agencies of necessary personnel and programs, and ignore judicial attempts to rein him in. In addition, she has been showing clips of huge numbers of protesters all over our country. 

Last Sunday Vicki and I attended the regular service and then walked into the room where a speaker’s series is held monthly. This week’s speaker was a woman named Cynthia Changyit Levin. She is a member of the church and has spoken before. She is a lobbyist, defending causes and programs that support the most vulnerable people in our country. She meets regularly with the staff of Senators and Representatives Hawley, Schmitt, and Wagner. This year so far she has arranged 11 meetings with staff members in defense of food stamps, Medicaid, and foreign aid. 

In addition to a very busy Mom and travel schedule, she finds time to write. Her first book is called, “From Changing Diapers to Changing the World”. It is a book about how ordinary Americans can effectively take action to preserve our values. She is now writing book number two devoted entirely to becoming an proactive activist. I bought a copy of her first book and sent it to my daughter, Jackie. I am on the list to receive a copy of book number two when it is available in May. 

She advised the group to write letters to our congress people. Letters, she said, are read by staffers. Whenever there is a name and address in the letter, the sender receives a reply. The staffers keep track of the issues raised in our letters and feed that information to their boss. While we were listening to her, she passed out copies of a letter urging Hawley, Schmitt, and Wagner to support certain Federal programs that are in danger of being severely cut. She encouraged us to multi-task and fill out the letters while she was presenting. Many of the people in the room did just that.

She encouraged us to attend protests. I thought of my friend Rose, in her 80’s, who protests outside of the Kirkwood city hall once a week. She takes her sign and her chair and shows up to get a message to drivers passing by. This coming Saturday there is a protest scheduled to support workers, including the thousands of Federal workers whose lives have been changed by receiving emails telling them they are no longer employed. I intend to be there, rain or shine. 

In the presentation one of our congregants made a chilling statement. She said she wasn’t even supposed to be speaking about her topic because she is a Federal worker. The gist of her message is this: 47’s regime is moving so quickly to destabilize our government that most congress people have no real idea of all the changes being forced upon us. Money to support these destructive efforts is changing hands so quickly that it can’t easily be traced. There was absolute silence in the room as we absorbed her words. Just when I think I can’t be shocked any more, I hear something that makes me sit up straighter, listen carefully and shake my head in disbelief.

There are things I can do. I can write letters. I can call Senators and Representatives. I regularly write to the Democratic National Committee urging them not to be so damn polite. I want my Democratic legislators to get out of their offices and fight back. So Saturday there was an all-day sit-in in DC of random Democrats finally showing up in public. I can attend my local Indivisible group meetings and get directions on other ways to support my causes and protest. 

When I think of all the chaos that this administration has created in just 100 days, I realize that I can’t sit back and be discouraged. The time for that was over on day 1 of 47’s regime. We are only 100 days into the 1460 days that 47 will be in power. I owe it to my fellow travelers to get out and do my part.