My father-in-law, George Bregante, published this piece in the Santa Barbara Independent in September.
A lifelong Republican, he attended the October 18 No Kings protest in patriotic red, white, and blue dress and proclaimed his distress about the current authoritarianism of this administration. I don’t believe he ever protested against the U.S. government before in his life. In fact, he served in the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department in the 1960s protecting property and enforcing law and order when students got out of hand protesting the Vietnam War.
He had supported Trump in 2016.
Sadly, what greeted him (and likely other moderate Republicans) at the No Kings Rally was a very Democratic Party-centric series of speakers and messages. As a lifelong leftist, I cheered heartily along with the crowd of mostly Democrats; but afterward, I felt that our “indivisible” efforts probably contributed to more division.
I think we can do better. I believe, strongly, in what Indivisible is doing, and I had hoped that it was a more nonpartisan call for dialogue and an end to the toxic politics cleaving this country. I think that people like my father-in-law are actually the majority of this country. And, unless our movement for social justice, equal economic opportunity, racial and gender equity, and human rights takes into account the so-called “silent majority” we risk deepening rifts and ultimately losing to the force and power of a right bent on authoritarian take over.
Our future depends on our uniting as a people and a movement against dictators, naked corruption, racist and pro-nazi rhetoric, and the unlawful use of power. These are not partisan issues, and they demand the broadest possible coalition to defeat.
My recommendation is that at future Indivisible events, we invite non-political people to speak who have had enough: business leaders, disaffected Republicans, nonpartisan elected leaders, and real moderates. These people have been marginalized and disenfranchised by toxic political division and angry rhetoric on both sides. I think that we need to make a bigger tent to bring in friends who we might not have spoken to about politics out of our fear of difference. The problem is that fear.
