On Saturday, following the inauguration of our 45th President, Donald Trump, millions of women and men alike took to the streets to voice their opinions peacefully through marches across the United States, and even the globe. These people stood together in solidarity to protest for maintaining and protecting women’s rights along with the rights of LGBTQ, workers, immigrants, and others who are disenfranchised in our society. Finally, after being beaten back by the force and determination of the Right, the Left is regaining its position as the “Progressives”. Throughout history, those who were Progressive tended to organize and fight for change, and studies showed that for the most part, it was effective. However, throughout the past couple of decades, the notion that the Left is “Progressive” has been fading. In fact, the Right has been quicker to fight for what it wants. I do not want to disregard some things the Left has done federally within the past two decades, such as fighting for LGBTQ rights and pushing for DOMA to be struck down (which was a success); however, it seems as though the Left has lost the unity that is so central to effectively fighting for and even enacting change. In fact, according to the Business Insider, only two of the nine biggest protests in American history were within the past two decades, including the Women’s March that happened this past Saturday.
The problem is that the Left, which once heavily relied on unity, is now being torn apart by political discord within the party itself. In fact, this election seems to have been the wake-up call that this party needed. The GOP’s aggression at both the state and federal levels has provoked many who once believed that our fortified democracy would not allow for demonstrable changes, to shift their views and mobilize themselves. According to the New Republic’s Graham Vyse, the Left needs to remember that gerrymandering has given the House an explicit advantage over their party. Grassroots movements have been neglected the past couple of decades, and although many within the party seem to be pouring support, there are demographics that seem to be largely cut out of the equation.
The bottom line is that in order to reestablish the Progressive ideology that was so intrinsic to Liberal identity, it is important to reunify the party and start mobilizing and taking action through Grassroots movements. The Women’s March proved that unity is attainable in the party. It proved that the dissent caused through the controversies of last year’s election is just a bump in the road for the Left. It proved that there are people out there who are willing to stand up for what they believe in, rather than take the back seat and fall susceptible to complacency and the Free Rider problem. Finally, it proved that the people are willing to start from the ground up to fight this fight. The importance of getting the attention of politicians at the federal level is imperative; however, the people need to remember that social change does not happen overnight and that the Grassroots movement needs to be embraced rather than neglected.
Although at the end of the day, our new President and the Republican congressional majority is still a reality. It is important to understand that peaceful protest is one of the many cornerstones of our nation that can be used to enact change. The beauty of living in a democracy is that there are so many other ways you can mobilize yourself to spark change. Marches are just the beginning. They demonstrate that the people of America, and across the globe, genuinely care and will not stand for the abuse of civil rights. Not only do things such as marches begin to catch the attention of policymakers, but these forms of protest also remind them that, based on the tenets of democracy, they need to listen to the people they are representing in office, or else the citizens are permitted to (and will) take action.
