Why I Marched

AFP photo

By

Cynthia M. Lardner

On Saturday I participated in the Amsterdam Women’s March. It was far from a ‘Women’s March’, it was a people’s march – young and old, male and female, of every race and religion. The 3,000 protesters here generated an electrifying and contagious energy that is not going to be diminished going forward.

I marched because I have been angry ever since the American election results were announced.

I marched because, like voting, I have a voice that deserves to be counted. I marched because if I sat home I would be one less voice that was counted. While Donald Trump was sworn in as President of the United States, I believe, like many others, that there are already grounds for impeachment.

I marched because I support the Emoluments Clause enabling legislation introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren as Mr. Trump has failed to meet the divestiture requirements.

I marched because our Constitution demands nothing short of a Free and Fair election. In any other country, a second election would have been held. Rather, our Constitution placed the burden on an outdated Electoral College that failed to vote for the candidate who garnered the popular vote and who fails to meet the Federalist requirements to serve as the leader of the world’s most powerful nation. I believe Mr. Trump poses a threat to our already fragile global security and stability.

I marched because many of Mr. Trump’s Cabinet nominees lack the requisite skills. Those nominees fail to reflect the diversity that makes America great. Mr. Trump’s proposed appointees evidence that he has no intention of supporting those American populations who have felt marginalized and who were seduced into voting for him.

I marched as a member of the Fourth Estate. When I came home and watched news coverage of the marches around the world, there was a brief pause when Mr. Trump, in his first day in office, visited the CIA and, rather than build a bridge with the media, he continued his rampage when he was there to applaud the work of the intelligence community. Mr. Trump fails to recognize that the media functions as a form of “check and balance” in American democracy.

“This is an outpouring of energy and true democracy like I have never seen in my very long life. It is wide in age. It is deep in diversity. And remember the constitution does not begin with “I, the president.” It begins with “We, the people.”,” stated iconic feminist Gloria Steinem at the Los Angeles Women’s March.

I marched because I am one of those “We, the people” committed to keeping America great.

“When we elect a possible president we too often go home. We’ve elected an impossible president, we’re never going home. We’re staying together. And we’re taking over,” concluded Ms. Steinem.

I’m with her.

The author with former United Nation Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the inauguration of the new ICC complex on April 19, 2016

Cynthia M. Lardner

Cynthia M. Lardner is an American journalist living in The Hague writing about geopolitics for Tuck Magazine and E – The Magazine for Today’s Executive Female Executive. Her blogs are read in over 37 countries. As a thought leader in the area of foreign policy, her philosophy is to collectively influence conscious global thinking. Ms. Lardner holds degrees in journalism, law, and counseling psychology.