Once upon a time my brother’s greatest hero was Alex P. Keaton. He was a proud Republican, fiscal conservative, pennyloaf wearing preppy. Meanwhile I was a burgeoning Democrat, bleeding heart, granola eating hippie. If you had asked me back then if I thought he would ever join my side of the political spectrum, I would have laughed in your face and said, “Only after Ronald Reagan does first.”
Fast forward twenty years and my brother is a registered nurse, army veteran, father of six, and bleeding heart liberal. No one is more shocked than him. Except maybe me.
Clif is a big brainiac who hasn’t had his chance to get a bunch of letters behind his name, so while we were in town we stopped in on the campus he now dreams of attending – UC Berkeley – and had a perfect Berkeley experience by stumbling into a protest rally.
Luckily it was for a cause that Clif and I were both totally on board with supporting – against funding cuts to education in California – and we happily joined the crowds cheering the speakers on. Atti would support the speakers in his own way, by bouncing up and down in his chair until the wheels lifted off the ground.
Long time readers know that this is not the first protest rally I’ve brought Atti to, and it certainly won’t be the last. I love having him at these events, not only because it teaches him to fight for his values and that his mom believes the world can be changed for the better, but also for purely selfish reasons. The types of people who show up at protest rallies? Love watching an adorable toddler in a wheelchair stick it to the man.
I mean, everybody loves an adorable toddler, but the people I run into at protest rallies crave diversity, crave civil rights for those with disabilities, crave inclusion, and seeing my little guy out there lights up peoples faces like I’m walking around handing out free puppies.
I love the message of this banner so much. So many of us feel nervous about the state of things. So do something about it. Figure out what you believe in, and support it however you can.
