*Editor’s note: “Stop covering politics,” some of our dear readers cry every time we post something relephant. Look: politics are life. Equal rights, empathy, fair economy, healthcare. We can’t ignore what’s happening, and you shouldn’t either. Disagree? We’re happy to share your experience here. 

Long before President Trump took office, I was ready for a protest.

I was ready to protest in high school as my 17-year-old self was taking her first government and civics class. I was ready to protest when I supported a Presidential candidate coming out of high school, and later when I didn’t support the Presidential candidate. I wanted to hit the streets when George Floyd was murdered and when so many others had their lives cut short. I was moved by The Women’s March and encouraged by the gun control movement.

I wanted to do something. 

And, I did. I’ve been to a handful of protests over the years. I’ve even written about them.

I think peaceful protesting should be on any civic-minded citizen’s bucket list. 

Peacefully protesting and demonstrating the free expression of our beliefs is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. That is the magic and inspiration behind a democracy: citizens can stand up and share their opinions without fear of discrimination or lawful action. In fact, I would argue that it’s our civic duty to make ourselves heard so that our elected officials have some idea of just what it is they’re representing, and what our expectations are.

We can’t hold them accountable if we don’t play our role. 

We have no right to complain when things don’t go the way we expected if we never stood up to ask for, and in some cases, fight for what we believed in and wanted and needed when the moment was ripe. 

There are a multitude of ways to do this and protesting is only one of them. But, personally? I still think everyone should experience a peaceful protest at least once in their lives simply because there is nothing on earth like it. 

This week, I braved the negative temperatures in St. Paul, Minnesota to join the #50501 movement protest of the “anti-democratic and illegal actions of the Trump administration and its plutocratic allies” on, appropriately, President’s Day.

February 17th, 2025 was deemed “No Kings Day” and the 50501 movement was activated in all 50 states. They describe it as, “50 protests in 50 states on 1 day.”

To prepare, I dressed in three layers of clothing, laced up my Sorel boots, dug out a pair of handwarmers, and found the warmest winter coat in my closet of Minnesota-winter, winter coats.

It was -6 degrees Fahrenheit, with the windchill much chillier.

And it was worth every moment of stamping my feet and rubbing my hands together to keep warm. It was worth “seeing” my glasses get covered in ice crystals.

It was doing something when it feels like there’s so much chaos and so much being dismantled so quickly that we can’t keep up, and we can’t make a difference.

But you know what?…

Thousands of people showing up in all 50 states makes an impact. It tells a story. It matters. 

I would do it again tomorrow. And the next day. And the day after that. And who knows—we may need to. 2025 may be the year of protesting and calling our representatives and showing up for city council meetings and helping our neighbors. It might be the year of doing the little things that matter because those little actions add up when everyone is doing them, together. 

A speaker at the St. Paul Capitol reminded me of this when he spoke about hope. 

He said,

“Hope is not a word.” 

And I felt the crowd go quiet. 

My attention was rapt and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, at attention, waiting for what he had to say next. 

Hope is not word, he said. It’s an action. He asked us to look collectively all around us on those steps of the Minnesota Capitol Building. Each of the people our eyes danced across, those people were hope. 

Hope is showing up. 

Hope is coming to a protest in -6 degrees Fahrenheit dressed in three layers of clothing. 

Hope is coming together, as a community, to make ourselves heard. 

Hope is not giving up, but taking the next step forward and helping our friends and neighbors do the same. 

And hope can’t die if we continue to show up and to look at others as though they are the word personified. 

And so, that is my challenge to you:

Stand in community. Look toward your neighbors and your friends and your family and see them as hope toward a better tomorrow because we cannot move the needle of change alone. It takes community. It takes care. And it takes that word that is not a word: hope.

~