As Donald Trump prepares to defy Congress and break the law yet again — this time by sending the heavy equipment to begin construction of his ludicrous “triumphal arch” at the gateway to Arlington National Cemetery — dozens of activists gathered at Memorial Circle during Thursday morning’s rush hour to protest.

The speakers and other protesters included veterans, retirees, and lawmakers, some calling the proposed structure a “sacrilege” and an “obscenity.”

One such speaker was U.S. Senator (D.-Ill.) and Army veteran Tammy Duckworth, who lost both legs and some mobility in her right arm in 2004 when — while serving as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot in the Iraq War — her Black Hawk was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Iraqi insurgents.

She didn’t pull her punches when expressing her opposition to the arch:

“I am pissed that the five-time draft dodging coward of a commander-in-chief sitting over there in the White House dares to dishonor the men and women of this country who have put on her collars and sacrificed and served and now lay at rest in the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery.”

[Source: Rachel Treisman, NPR, October 2, 2026.]

The veterans, determined to protect the sanctity of the cemetery where many of them will themselves be interred one day, also vowed to block the construction by forming a line of people seated in rocking chairs, reminiscent of the peaceful sit-ins of the mid-20th century.

I’m old enough to remember those days, and the much-needed social changes that were spurred by the non-violent activists. I’ve been waiting, and hoping, for a resurrection of that spirit to finally restore a sense of order, respect, and basic decency to what was — and will be again — the greatest democracy the world has yet known.

We the people are not helpless; we have a strong collective voice. We can protest, and we can VOTE to defeat the tyrants who hope to subjugate us.

We are Americans.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/3/26