As I arrived at the anti-Bush rally today in Salt Lake City, the giant puppet heads of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Rice were offloading. My daughter was thrilled to carry the Bush head. She stopped, looked inside, and turned to an adult to say, “There’s no brain in there.” So some say.

The Chain Gang puppets, stickers, spineless citations, and all were sent by the Backbone Campaign. We distributed these and Progressive Democrats of America “End the Occupation of Iraq” stickers for several hours. Very few people declined when I asked, “Do you need a sticker?”

One of the young, masked anarchists turned me down. (He’s my nephew. Maybe it’s personal.) Wow, they looked great. Apparently, the police liked them, too. Police filmed them and kept filming them, waiting for masks to be removed.

As a matter of fact, we were all filmed by the police. So, I decided to keep an eye on them back. I heard one tell another, “But he can’t pick a fight like that while he’s in uniform.” Someone was picking a fight? I didn’t witness that, but I heard other say that people (let’s call them “conservatives”) picked fights — physical fights as well as arguments along the lines of “you’re helping the terrorists.” I know the talking points say that, but do real people with minds of their own think that? I’m just confused where free speech and participation come into democracy for these people, though I know some of radical conservatives insist free speech is not in the constitution.

The whole issue of vocal democracy and exercise of free speech seems lost on some people. Granted, Salt Lake City citizens often have deep preparation for obedience to authority. No wonder Donald Rumsfeld, Condeleeza Rice, and George Bush have had to retreat to Utah to try to find safe ground in the state’s just-over-50% approval rating.

Joke is on them, though, since Salt Lake City itself is so Democratic that a Republican can’t get elected as Mayor. This is the home of Rocky Anderson (he of the 1-hour speech). Soon he won’t be mayor any longer (and surely neither will his hand-picked Republican), but I suspect he has much bigger ambitions than Mayor of Salt Lake City.

I have long wondered what marching does for us, and I think - after asking for a few decades - I can begin to answer. It shows numbers behind dissenting opinions. Yes. But, those numbers are filtered by media. I don’t think that is where the real power of gathering is. The power is in connection with others. Not just in me saying hello to people I know (and I do think I saw at the rally every person I know by name that isn’t related to me by blood), but in reaching beyond People Like Us. I talked to a huge variety of people.

It’s not easy living surrounded by people who not only don’t get you but seem actively to abhor you. There is power in building a connection with likeminded or similar-minded or openminded others before we pack up our giant puppet heads and go home to the sea of conservativism in our own neighborhoods.

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PROJECT: Make a giant puppet head. You can get detailed instructions from the Puppeteer Cooperative, or just start with a bicycle helmet and build a papier mache shape on top.

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