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06/15/2025

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

The day after

First of all, Happy Father’s Day to all Dads who take on this responsibility with love and care. In my own little family, the most prominent Dad is Ibrahim Momoh, the father of my two grandsons. He happens to be outside of the country at the moment, and his boys will be missing him on this special day. As their father, he is giving them opportunities to become good citizens of this global village that we call Earth. Under his guidance they are learning the joy of travel, the responsibility of working hard on family projects, the importance of trying new things, and how a grown up man can actually still be a kid himself sometimes.

This morning I’m enjoying the feel good residue of yesterday’s protest. As we stood on the sidewalks of Lindbergh in South County, we were greeted overwhelmingly by passers-by honking non-stop and waving and declaring their approval of our effort to get out the No Kings message. I saw some very clever and funny signs. I saw people of all sizes and ages enacting their right to peaceful protest. And peaceful it was. There were protest marshals in dayglo vests. The most trouble we got into with them was our occasional blocking of the driveway and our enthusiastic presence off the curb and in the actual street. It seemed to me that the spread of people 3-4 lines deep went for almost a mile. 

Our governor had overreacted and called out the National Guard. There were no soldiers near our protest, and no police presence. I did see some mounted police in the coverage of what happened downtown at Kiener Plaza. Down there the news says it was a peaceful gathering of at least a thousand people. I can’t tell how many people were gathered in South County, but the word was that 1,300 people had signed up to attend. I think the number exceeded 1,300 but that is a very unscientific observation. I don’t know how many people turned out in Ballwin, near Ann Wagner’s office. I’m sure Ann was nowhere to be found.

I think about Ted and Sarah, who are making their way back home to LA after a 40^th birthday celebration trip in Ted’s honor. I told them not to hurry because things are hot in their town. Coverage of LA’s protest showed lines of soldiers and mounted police pushing the crowd away from a Federal building. At one point, people were running as troops sent flash-bang devices into their midst. It’s so obvious that 47 is making an example of Los Angeles. It’s not stopping people from turning out to object and protest the ham-handed efforts of “law enforcement” wearing several different uniforms.

This being Sunday, I’m headed to church in a couple of hours. After the service I am scheduled to give a talk on what the Bible says about loving our immigrant neighbors. Since it’s Father’s Day, I don’t know how well attended it will be, but this speaker series usually draws 30 -40 people. In any case, I’m ready with my PowerPoint presentation filled with quotations from the Bible. There are words from Leviticus, Chronicles, Matthew, Ezekiel, Job and Micah. Each quotation describes how we immigrant law practitioners work with our clients. I will tell a few case history stories, carefully protecting any ability to identify the people involved. My experience in speaking to groups is that people react to stories that demonstrate the human face of whatever the topic is. And, I believe that we are a species that relies on stories to pass along our wisdom.

Because my church, Parkway United Church of Christ, is socially engaged and involved in the problems of the wider world, I will ask my audience to write letters to their senators and congress person on behalf of Legal Services Corporation. There is a part of the upcoming Federal budget that calls for the dismantling of my company’s offices across the country. We are a letter-writing people at my church, and I plan to take advantage of that. 

Then I’m headed to Rose’s house to watch a Cardinals game. This is another spiritual experience in my opinion. Amen.