Witnessing a protest in Tel Aviv inspired Jim McTarnaghan to interrogate the role of the ‘dem’ in democracy.
Chants of “DEMOCRACY, DEMOCRACY NOW” filled the Tel Aviv evening sky. It was the 16th consecutive week of protests against Bibi Netanyahu’s efforts to overhaul the Israeli judicial system in his favor. During a recent visit to our daughter, son-in-law and newborn grandson, my wife and I observed our first Israeli protest looking down from their balcony, captivated by the tens of thousands of people in the streets below.
The following week, we joined the protest and were amazed by what we witnessed. There was a tremendous sense of community—families, children, elderly folks—all with an air of empowerment earned by stepping out of their daily lives to march. Tears rolled down my face at the sight of this peaceful, but very powerful, collective action and the protestors’ commitment to democratic principles.
I wondered aloud: “Why isn’t this happening more often at home?” followed by the question of “why haven’t I been marching in protests?” Certainly, protests have occurred in the U.S., but I, and most Americans, have not joined. Why didn’t I take to the streets when the rights of minority voters were stripped away and women’s right to choose an abortion was reversed? What kept so many of us frozen when a mob stormed the Capitol in an effort to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power? And, why aren’t all of us marching down every main street of every American city every single time there is yet another mass shooting?
During a chaotic period of American history, coupled with a global pandemic, I have felt helpless, frustrated and angry, but have not taken to the streets. Was it my whiteness, my maleness, my privilege, or my “busy life” that kept me away? Probably all of those, but the Israeli protests provided a model for me to get off of the balcony and join the crowd in the streets to stand up for our own threatened democracy.