We all know by now that the Republican Party is flailing. It has become a cult of spineless sycophants, kowtowing to a dictator, with no concern for its constituents. That’s not even debatable. So why is there no consistent protesting going? Big national, international rallies are great, but what are we doing between these events? Small protests attract more protesters who can participate on a more frequent basis.
Several times a week I pull out my sandwich boards and go to the corner of Grand and Oak Park in Grover Beach to protest the orange dictator. When I do this—at the outlet mall, downtown Arroyo Grande, wherever there is traffic—I get primarily positive responses, thumbs up, go girl, etc. That’s great, but why am I out there alone? If you care, then why am I the only one protesting?
I realize that not everyone is retired like I am, but afternoons, weekends, holidays, or any hour you can find the time to speak out, do it! At 77, I am tired—I was there in the ’60s protesting the Vietnam War, protesting the threatened Iraq War in Santa Maria with Bill Deneen. Folks need to stop wringing their hands and get up and do something! I am tired of trying to go it alone.
Remember Larry Kramer and his ACT UP group in the ’80s? Look it up; if not for the pressure of ACT UP, who knows when the government would have invested in AIDS research?
Nothing happens when we are divided and fail to unite and speak up.
Cathryn Sells
Grover Beach
This article appears in Oct 9-19, 2025.
At this point, you aren’t “demonstrating” as you wear a sandwich board on some rural street corner, you are simply moral grandstanding. At least you recognize the crux of the problem, economics: “I realize that not everyone is retired like I am.”
It isn’t enough to wag your finger at those who don’t join your one man (or woman) “protest,” you continue to do so on these pages. The only question I have is, how do you get in and out of your car having nailed yourself to such a huge cross? It seems to me a little self absorbed to think you are the only living light of reason in the world because, having nothing else to do in retirement, you stand on some corner praying for recognition, which you obtain whenever someone of your era, driving their Tesla or BMW, en route to their podiatrist, gives you a honk. Brava, madam, brava…Surely Christ will give your measure.
Meanwhile, I gotta wash down my burnt toast with the last of my instant coffee. Sure hope my car makes it work.
I am sure that an army of engaged citizenry, armed with sandwich boards and deployed to street corners, will surely turn things around. Rather than fussing over conflicting needs and expectations, dealing with problems like millions of desperately poor people pouring over our borders and bankrupting our social services, protecting us from criminals, or repelling foreign aggression, a showing of “just how darn much we care” will bend all those problems to our will, and deliver us. Why worry about having the technology to keep the lights on, heat our homes, or to get around town, when our collective ardor will surely resolve those issues? Or, fret about how to build more homes in an area which is already built up without ruining the environment, and at a price most can afford? We’ll just tell them how we feel! Who knew that governing could be so simple?
Who knew!