He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother

Love Is an Act of Resistance

In towns and cities across the country, our families, friends, neighbors and fellow citizens are being terrorized. We can’t avert our eyes. There is no excuse for what is happening. High school and college graduations are being invaded by masked ICE agents. Schools, day care centers, workplaces and places of businesses are targets for state sanctioned abductions. In some cities, ICE agents are setting up checkpoints. Hospitals are being surveilled to make sure they are not providing gender affirming care, miscarriages are being recorded for possible investigation into being an illegal abortion. This is where we are as a country. We don’t have to live this way. We have the power to resist this tyranny.

Did you Know:

In 1917 Father Flanagan, a Catholic priest, opened a home for boys in Omaha, Nebraska. He was a social reformer and a visionary for how to care for children and families who were most vulnerable and abandoned by society. He accepted all boys regardless of race, creed or cultural background; boys who had been warehoused in abusive juvenile centers and prisons. The home became known as Boys Town, and has transformed lives for over a century. Fr. Flanagan was known to have said, “It costs so little to teach a boy to love, and so much to teach him to hate.” Boys Town was one of the first desegregated facilities in the country.

One of the boys, Howard Loomis, had polio and heavy braces on his legs. Father Flanagan asked Reuben Granger, an older resident, to help with getting Howard up and down the stairs each day. One day Fr. Flanagan asked Reuben if Howard was too heavy for him to carry, and the young man replied, “He ain’t heavy Father, he’s my brother.” These loving words later became a hit song, written by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell, and recorded by The Hollies in the late 60’s—a timeless anthem for social justice movements. (It is a hauntingly beautiful song, take the time to listen.)

If I’m laden at all, I’m laden with sadness, that everyone’s heart isn’t filled with gladness of love for one another…..(excerpted lyric)

Why It Matters:

The person who was elected as the 47th President of the United States and who took an oath to protect and preserve the Constitution is trampling on it. Congress will do nothing to stop him. The current regime is calling up the military to fight against Americans who are exercising their First Amendment right “of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Rubber bullets and tear gas are being used against protesters and those seeking ‘redress of grievances.’ A few bad actors are using violence, which is causing unrest, not riots. The Trump regime is using terror, violence, propaganda and the power of the military to frighten us. It is all a machination of his pettiness and we must not be fooled. We must understand that we are in this together, and he and his thugs will eventually come after all of us. We are bound together by our shared humanity. Together we will prevail.

What We Can Do:

June 14th is Flag Day and the birthday of our current President. He is hosting a 45 million dollar tax-payer funded Nazi Germany/Adolf Hitler style military parade to celebrate his birthday. Ignore him. It’s performative political theatre and it is anti-American.

That same day, there are about 1,800 alternative peaceful parades, rallies and protests occurring across the country. The celebrations are for Flag Day as we approach the 249th birthday of this nation and a show of resistance to the tyranny of this regime. We are reclaiming the flag from the MAGA cult. These celebrations are in small towns, rural communities, suburbs and cities all across the nation.

On Saturday, participate in a protest or rally waving an American flag and showing off your handmade sign. Take someone with you. Authoritarians depend upon breaking the horizontal bonds of solidarity and empathy, the bonds of our shared humanity and love for one another. There is nothing stronger than solidarity shown publicly, which is why a police state or a dictator responds with outsized threats and violent acts. Let’s be the social proof of a pro-democracy movement and our collective concern for the welfare of our sisters and brothers.

Writers, poets, and artists have always shown us the way. With poetry and song as our guide, let’s get out and show a little love on Saturday. There is a line a Mary Oliver poem that speaks to this moment.

My work is loving the world. Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird. Equal seekers of sweetness.

Mary Oliver/Messenger (excerpt)

The sunflower is a symbol of solidarity and resistance. Carry flags and wear sunflowers on Saturday, June 14th.

To find a rally or parade near you, go to No Kings. Here is more information about zoom calls and trainings for peaceful “No Kings” events.

Our No Kings Day rallies and parades must be steeped in active non-violence, love, and joyful resistance. The villains are not the military, the police officers or even the hateful ICE agents who have been radicalized and militarized by the regime. The villain is Trump and he is looking for an excuse to abandon all constitutional and democratic norms of our democracy. Don’t be fooled. Resist any aggression or angry words. This could be a very good day for our country!

Yours in Joyful Resistance and Loving the World,

The H4D Team