America Awakens

A reader sent in their thoughts and images from today's protest in DC.

Something is stirring in America. Finally. After years of creeping dread, quiet resignation, and distracted scrolling, it feels like the country has opened its eyes, yawned, blinked—and then narrowed its gaze. And what it sees it doesn't like.

Today, in the shadow of the Washington Monument, that awakening took visible, undeniable form. The Hands-Off protest brought tens of thousands—yes, tens of thousands—of people together to say enough is enough. Enough attacks on democracy. Enough apathy. Enough pretending everything's fine.

The Sylvan Theater, nestled near the base of the towering 555-foot obelisk honoring George Washington, was the pulse of this gathering. The entire slope leading up to the monument, usually open and viewable from afar, was a living wave of protest signs and defiance. Budding artists had turned poster board into passiona…