"Families Belong Together," Columbus, Ohio

    Yesterday, Saturday, June 30, hundreds of thousands of people in 700 cities in every state rallied and marched in demonstrations protesting Donald Trump's cruel "zero tolerance" policy against asylum seekers at our southern border.

     Among them were demonstra-tors in Atlanta carrying baby dolls in a dog cage representing children kept   in cages on concrete detention center floors,

...Lin Manuel Miranda marching in Washington D.C.,

...and singing a lullaby to children whose parents aren't there to sing to them,

...and Leah, a 12-year-old American-born daughter of an undocumented domestic worker giving an impassioned speech on behalf of suffering refugee parents and children.

    Tom, Tommy, Emily and I joined the marchers who gathered in front of the Ohio Statehouse for  Columbus's Families Belong Together demonstration and march, which took place from 10 am to noon.

     Tom and I decided to take the bus into town, about a 45-minute ride from Hamilton Road in Gahanna,

...with a change in Whitehall at Broad Street,

...then up Broad Street to 3rd Street across from the Statehouse where we de-bussed,

..and joined the others on their way to the demonstra-tion.

     The path to the Statehouse was lined with folks displaying posters.

...and the Statehouse steps were also filling up with demonstra- tors,

...as was the lawn and plaza in front of the Statehouse.

    There were lots of young families representing,

...and folks of all ages.

     We met up with Emily and Tommy on the plaza, where they were holding a couple of beautiful posters that Emily had made.

     By the time the rally began at a little after 10 am, over 2,000 people had gathered at the Ohio Statehouse.

    Some of the signs held up by demonstrators  quoted Scripture,

...and some Mr. Rogers

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     There were a number of speakers who gave inspiring speeches with  heartening  messages.

     One of the speakers told us that one day our children and grandchildren will ask us what we did when the children were being taken from their parents and locked up. He said that we'd be able to say that we stood up for the children,that we made noise, though he reminded us that nothing makes as much noise as the sound of feet marching to the polls.
      Another speaker listed what should be the four take-aways from today for everyone of us:
      1. Love your neighbor
     2. If you know or meet any immigrants, be they Hispanics, Muslims, or  whoever, let them know that they're welcome here.
       3. Continue to agitate.
       4.  Vote, and make this the issue that you live and die on.
        After all the speakers had finished we marched down High Street,  

...around to State Street,

...up 3rd Street,

...to Broad Street,

...then back around to High Street,

...where a small faction of the group went rogue and proceeded to block the busy intersection at Broad and High,

...but only for a few minutes, fortunately.

   Then the march was over,

...and everyone went our separate ways,

...energized,

...hoping, as we walked away, that we'd done some good.

     As for me, I felt, if nothing else,  that the truth of  the message of Emily's sign, inspired by a line from "Hamilton,"  was spot on and a reminder not only to Donald Trump, but to us all.