Protestors are a committed lot. And protestors who show up day after day after day, are way beyond committed.
And then there is a small lot of people in our community who are going to walk cross country – in unrelenting summer heat in the name of civility.
I got a chance to talk to one such person, and no, she’s not some flower-child wannabe professional demonstrator. She’s a medical professional and former chaplain. In fact, Esther Tishman, founder of Liberty Walks, is about as “common sense” as any person you could find.
Yet, I was curious to ask her – why? Why do this?
“I just gotta Forrest Gump it!”, She told me. Meaning that the strife, anger and even violence that seems so prevalent in our nation right now, was driving her – like Tom Hanks’ character in the movie – to move. To go out and walk and hopefully join others in a literal and metaphysical community.
Yes, the plan for Tishman and folks following her on this journey, is kind of crazy. Yes, there is like a 99.9% chance that no real change will come from their efforts.
And they know that. Tishman is under no illusion that their walk will move people in power to suddenly change their ways and become kinder, gentler and more understanding.
But for the group at Liberty Walks, even if one person is helped or changed, it’s worth it.
I was thinking about Tishman and her group the other day, when I was driving by a group of regular protesters near Whole Foods in Eugene. They are there most days as I drive by, holding up signs protesting the war in Gaza. They are mostly older folks who might be retired and have the time to give to their cause.
And just like the folks at Liberty Walks I imagine they are quite cognizant of the fact that their street corner action is absolutely not going to force the U.S. and Israel to change stance.
They do it anyway. Why?
Why do something where the odds of any kind of success are worse than your odds in Vegas times a million? Perhaps the answer is that crazy longshots are foundational to hope and faith.
Or, maybe the answer is even simpler: any action, even massive longshots, are better than inaction.
Let’s face it. It’s never been easier in our culture to just tune out. We are surrounded by distraction and digital voices where we can immerse ourselves in like-minded opinions to make us feel righteous and smug. It’s the empty calories of social media where we can consume a hot-take that echoes our feelings, scroll for even more, and then do absolutely nothing.
But what about those brave and reckless few, that get up off the couch and walk for civility or hold a sign on a busy street corner? Do we dismiss them as naïve do-gooders who have nothing better to do with their time? Like us? Are we doing something better with our time? Is doom scrolling, or shouting at a disembodied voice on talk radio a better use of our time?
We are in protest season. There are a lot of organized events to gather as people and be united. Yes, it takes some effort and yes it could disrupt your plans. It might even take up a whole Saturday afternoon.
And it’s incredibly easy to say to yourself: “It won’t make a lick of difference if I go and no one would miss me.”
But, one person, standing next to another person and so on and so on, creates a community. Yes, a community that will not make immediate change. But who knows? One person, at one protest, is like the preverbal stone creating a small ripple in a lake. It reverberates.
Tishman from Liberty Walks hopes to meet people along the journey and have new conversations with people she’s never met before. She probably won’t agree with a lot of them on nearly everything. But she’s going to talk to people in rural counties and big cities that she never would talk to if she stayed at home. That in and of itself is beating the odds of remaining closed off and inactive.
Michael Dunne is the host of “Oregon: On the Record” on KLCC. he is a ctntributor to The Chronicle.
