Peaceful Anti-Bush Protests in Port Charlotte, Florida

If you drove down US 41 from 10:30 to noon on July 28th by Murdock Circle in Port Charlotte, Florida, you probably saw a group of people proudly waving the American flag and holding anti-Bush signs. Standing in the summer Florida heat, the protesters waved, smiled, and flashed the peace sign at passing cars. Their signs showed clear, legible messages: "Impeach Bush & Cheney"; "Stop the war"; "Enough is enough".

I had an opportunity to speak with Linda Levin, President of the local Democratic Club of Charlotte County and one of the organizers of the protest. She noted that the response was mostly positive, which was "a pleasant surprise". She noted that there were a few detractors, but the ratio of supportive reactions to opposing ones was about twenty to one. With the political climate faring poorly for Republicans, with continuous scandal and diminishing support for the war in Iraq, Levin noticed the change from years past.

"I think in the past people were afraid to voice their opinions," she mused.

Levin believes that those who don't stand up for their rights now are doomed to suffer the consequences. "We keep losing our civil liberties and by the time those who insist that nothing's wrong notice the changes in our country, it will be too late to do anything about it."

The Democratic Club, in junction with the Charlotte County Peace Coalition, set up today's protest. Thirty five people showed up to hold signs and flags, with the ages ranging from ninety-nine to teenagers not yet old enough to vote.

Levin was pleased with the amount and diversity of the protesters, considering that not all of the people in the Democratic Club or Peace Coalition could make it. One man is currently in Ohio, but pledged to stand on his local corner at the same time, holding up his own sign and flag.

The right to free assembly is a cherished one in this country, with groups of various political and social beliefs freely able to voice their opinions in the public square. Private assembly is also a powerful tool that can lead to such public displays as today's gathering. "It's nice to walk into a room where you know the people in there agree with you", Levin noted with a smile.

January 20^th, 2009 is Bush's last day in office, and a few signs bore that date along with "Honk for Impeachment", which caused a lot of honking on that small stretch of US 41. A police vehicle even briefly turned on its siren in support while driving by.

While the groups enjoy seeing appreciation for their political stance, they know that this is a protest movement that will keep going for many months. "We'll be here until Bush is out of office, until the war's over, until [Bush] stops screwing up," stated Herb Levin, a co-organizer of the protest. He paused, then smiled thoughtfully. "So we'll be here a while."

Further reading:

"United for Peace & Justice : Events" URL: (http://unitedforpeace.org/calendar.php?calid=19980)

Kristen Kridel, "Dozens in Charlotte protest Iraq war" HeraldTribune.com. URL: (http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070128/NEWS/701280383)

Carolyn Quinn, "Voicing their views: Group demonstrates outside county building" Charlotte Sun Herald. URL: (http://www.sun-herald.com/breakingnews.cfm?id=2861)