March 2026 SOLC–Day 28
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The first time I protested (during this administration), these were my signs:
When I last demonstrated, I knew things were already bad, but I didn’t anticipate how much worse they would become. It’s all so overwhelming. I’m disgusted, horrified and outraged on a daily basis. It’s hard to know what to do, and all too easy to get caught up in my daily life and do very little. I can call my representatives (and I do, though not very often) and I can stand up and speak out. Today I’m doing the latter. Here are the signs I’ll be carrying:
This side of my sign is taken from Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s 2007 poem, “Pity the Nation”. Here is more of it, and a link to the entire poem:
PITY THE NATION
Pity the nation whose people are sheep
And whose shepherds mislead them
Pity the nation whose leaders are liars
Whose sages are silenced
And whose bigots haunt the airwaves
Pity the nation that raises not its voice
Except to praise conquerors
And acclaim the bully as hero
And aims to rule the world
By force and by torture
On a side note, I am so thankful that I work with young children. Teaching them to be kind and honest little humans is a meaningful task, and one that feels like resistance against the ongoing culture of incivility and eroded truth. I take some solace in that.
Nix the comfort zone 
I’m going super simple with my sign: RESTORE DEMOCRACY!
The work you are doing with small children is priceless. It’s the most important thing you could be doing on a day to day basis and I thank you and all teachers from the bottom of my heart!
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Thank you for going and for speaking up! I’ve been on the phone all morning with my family who are also going and working on signs. Thank you for sharing the poem too. How powerful.
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Great post. My sign says, “I’m voting for Regime Change” but I like your signs better. I may steal the Speak Up for my other side. Hoping for big turnouts all over the country. Be safe.
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We’re on our way to our local protest. I’ve kept the same signs for each one, a list of grievances, but I love that Lawrence Ferlenghetti poem and wish I’d thought of using it. It makes for a powerful sign! I hope the turnout is as good as predicted, but I’m worried it won’t be. We need more teachers like you who are taking a stand against this regime. Peace and Light to you today.
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I love your new signs and the poem. I also went to a protest today and compared it to the October one. It’s really sad where we’re at. I love your closing paragraph and totally agree. Doing the work you do is resistance. Carry on.
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Molly, thanks so much for sharing the link to Ferlinghetti’s and Gabran’s “Pity the Nation” poems. Wow. Your poster has such a great line from the poem, and the other side: “Speak up (while you still can).” Yes, please. I’m so sad that more people don’t speak up.
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Thank you for sharing this poem and for standing up and using your voice. Your ending gave me a little hope- thinking of our work as resistance.
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Powerful poem, and valuable demonstration posters! Thank you for sharing and speaking up!!
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Wow, powerful poem. Thanks for sharing it here…and in the world. And thanks for the reminder that there are lots of ways to contribute…and teaching small humans to be kind and honest is one of them.
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