Should I Go?

There is an event planned for Washington, DC on September 29, 2024. It is a rally to Rescue the Republic. I listened to Bret Weinstein on Joe Rogan's podcast make a pitch for the rally. I agree with his point: It is critical that the powers that be see the strength of their opposition to the direction of the country; that it will likely take several hundred thousands showing up to do that. The "silent majority" rhetoric will not cut it. There are already plans in place to diminish the size of any organic expression in the polling booth. Only a visible act of strength will do two things: (1) give a tangible voice for a new direction, and (2) make a "steal" in November more evident were it to occur -- and thus rob of powers that be of even marginally credible claims of popular support.

As listed on its website, Rescue the Republic has an 8-point message that I believe is broadly supported in the country and, if not, we are no longer the country we thought we lived in:

• War is always the last resort
• Sanctify/recodify informed consent
• Banish state media control, surveillance
• Enact a rational border policy
• End Lawfare and abuse of the judicial system
• Secure monetary freedom
• Restore family sovereignty
• Return to truth-seeking and open dialogue

To support this you don't need to change your party (or no-party) preference. But you do need to be vocal about it.

And this leads to my dilemma. Should I go to the rally? Mrs. Rodin doesn't trust the government. Never did. And the reaction to January 6 -- the data collection of everyone in the DC area from January 5-7, 2021; the arrests and prosecutions including persons who never entered the Capitol building; the hassling of government critics in the TSA "Quiet Skies" program -- has had the intended effect of making someone think twice about attending such a rally.

I attended two protests in Sacramento, California in 2020 to object to the Covid lockdown. These were the only protests I had ever attended in my life. The first was a stay-in-the-car drive-around of the Capitol grounds, the second was on the sidewalk well away from the Capitol building. The numbers were too few to move the needle, impressive as they seemed to me.

Based on that experience, I know that the Rescue the Republic rally is going to have one of two results: generate fear in the powers that be or provide comfort to them that their opposition is too weak and disorganized to be a threat. These two results, in turn, will generate one of three outcomes. Like legendary football coach Woody Hayes said of the forward pass: When you throw you get one of three outcomes and two are bad. Similarly, rallies that fail embolden tyrants to oppress more; rallies that succeed can either reduce tyranny or stimulate tyrants to oppress more in hopes of breaking resistance.

Can I, in good conscience, stay home? Attending a rally is the antithesis of the secret ballot. It is a public declaration. And, unlike a secret ballot, the government cannot pretend through published "counts" that there were fewer votes cast than there were. Yes, the state-controlled media can fail to report on a rally. But X.com will be available and repeated endlessly on the internet, unless shut down before then. Will that be the signal to go or stay home -- if X.com is shut down before the rally takes place?

If I go should I use only cash on my trip? Should I leave my iPhone at home? If I do either am I being prudent or a coward? Will my car's GPS "rat me out" in any event?

Just think through the questions I have asked and stand back --amazed--that any American should have to ask themselves such questions regarding participation in a non-violent political act.

It's an 8-hour drive according to Google Maps (who now knows I am thinking about going there, or at least curious about going there -- sometime). If I were willing to just drive to the rally and back without staying overnight (what is the term they are using these days, "raw dog it") I can wait until the early hours of September 29 to make my decision. But there are actually multiple events going on there that weekend:

September 28, 2024 at the Washington Monument: Rage Against the War Machine

• Not One More Penny for Wars in Ukraine or Gaza
• Negotiate Peace
• Stop the War Inflation
• Disband NATO
• Global Nuclear De-Escalation
• Slash the Pentagon Budget
• Abolish the CIA and Military-Industrial Deep State
• Abolish War and Empire
• Restore Civil Liberties
• Pardon Julian Assange

And September 27 & 28, 2024 (location TBD?): Inspired Policy Forum

The Inspired Policy Forum, hosted by The Inspired Network, is a policy-related, sister event to Rescue The Republic. Rescue The Republic calls for the nation to come together to fight against attacks from the industrial complexes; the Inspired Policy Forum is our chance to counter these attacks. The forum is designed as a think tank and roundtable discussion on five primary topics: Ensuring Safe Medicine, Food Policy, Psychedelics for Veterans’ Mental Health and Addiction, Child Trafficking at the Border, and Clean and Sustainable Energy. We invite policymakers and experts to convene together such a way as to bridge known communication gaps that can lead to inefficient or ineffective policymaking. The purpose is to translate the messages of the RTR rally into meaningful dialogue that leads to sustainable and bipartisan policy-level change.

So, if I do go there is plenty to occupy me for a three-day stay. But I am a septuagenarian. I enjoy a life of quiet entertainment: maintaining a house, reading, writing, and occasional social events with friends or family. I worry about the country. I know that there is little I can do, personally, to influence events in the direction I want things to go. But if I believe in "consent of the governed," how can I stay silent in word or deed? My government has started to exact a price for political speech. That is not acceptable. I must protest.

Should I go?