<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I grab my sign and flag and head for the front door, passing by my roommate Arnold sipping his coffee on the recliner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo, Teddy, you\u2019re going to that idiotic protest downtown with all the other woke libtards?\u201d he smirks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Annoyed at his smug condescension, I stop in my tracks. “Yes, I\u2019m exercising my First Amendment right to free speech today. Why don\u2019t you come with me?” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arnold snorts and spews coffee all over his pajama shirt. \u201cRight\u2026\u201d he sputters. \u201cYou\u2019re all just mad because you lost the election, and you hate the president. You don\u2019t want America to be great again. But go vent at your stupid rally, go yell and chant and hold your silly signs. Nobody cares about you Demon-rats, or anything you say.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inwardly, I seethe at the insults, but outwardly, I remain calm as best as I can. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNumber one, you know I\u2019m not a Democrat, or as you say, \u2018Demon-rat.\u2019 I\u2019m an independent voter, who doesn\u2019t follow any party line. Before this president, I was a lifelong conservative Republican, so there\u2019s that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hold up the flag. \u201cNumber two, I\u2019m a red, white, and blue flag-waving patriot as much as anyone else. I support constitutional rights for every person in America, and our freedom to exercise them. Like my right to free speech.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNumber three. If calling me woke\u2026\u201d I gather my words carefully. \u201cIf calling me \u2018woke\u2019 because I\u2019m aware and concerned about the environment, economy, injustice, and tyranny, then yes, I\u2019m woke, and proud of it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arnold scoffs. \u201cWell then, go join the other Commie losers and America-haters; it won\u2019t make any difference. We won, and we will do whatever we need to do to make America great again, like it or not.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I take a calming breath; I will not let Arnold\u2019s narrow-minded intolerance get my goat today. \u201cYour idea of what makes America great differs from mine, but we can disagree and respect opposing views. We all have the right to voice our dissent, even when it \u2018won\u2019t make a difference.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Halfway through the open door, I turn to Arnold and wink. \u201cCome on man, join us. I have an extra flag for you to wave. It\u2019s for all Americans who value liberty and free speech, including you.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arnold rolls his eyes. \u201cGo ahead, you liberal nut. I bet you\u2019ll be hugging trees next.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cProbably so,\u201d I chuckle. \u201cI really do love trees.\u201d I leave the apartment, get in my car and drive towards downtown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A few minutes later, I arrive and join a gathering of a few dozen people in front of City Hall. I proudly hold my sign with one hand, wave my flag with the other, and smile at those around me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They don\u2019t look like dangerous lunatics to me, as our president has accused those who oppose his policies. People who hate America he says, and want to turn it into a third-world hellhole or communist state or whatever. These people all look normal, like every other person I know \u2014 my family, neighbors and friends. Just regular Americans, like me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We hold our signs and flags and cheer as cars drive by, some people honking and waving, others cursing and giving the middle finger. It\u2019s all good. I\u2019m thankful for the freedom we have to do this. The freedom to assemble peaceably, and speak our minds with no fear of government reprisal \u2014 no matter how unpopular or controversial. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cacophony fades into the background as a gentle wave of truth floods my mind. America is not<\/em> a failed nation. America\u2019s best days are not<\/em> behind it. America is resilient, its strength rooted in the timeless values of liberty and justice for all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sound fades back in, and I join a chorus of cheers as a semi-truck slowly rolls by, its horn blaring as loud as a freight train. Strangely, amidst it all, I feel peace in knowing the truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We don’t need to make America great again, because it already is. Our freedom has always made America great, and it always will \u2014 as long as we can keep it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I grab my sign and flag and head for the front door, passing by my roommate Arnold sipping his coffee on the recliner. \u201cSo, Teddy, you\u2019re going to that idiotic protest downtown with all the other woke libtards?\u201d he smirks. Annoyed at his smug condescension, I stop in my tracks. “Yes, I\u2019m exercising my First […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2527,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[19],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-2526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama-literary","tag-flash-fiction"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/As-Long-As-We-Can-Keep-It.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2526"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3938,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2526\/revisions\/3938"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}