Last week I participated in an agriculture roundtable discussion with Senator Van Hollen. When I asked him what we, as farmers and citizens can do to advocate for ourselves in these tumultuous times, he said "Please SPEAK OUT. Your voice is powerful and it makes a difference. Call your representatives. Make some noise. Protest harmful policies."

Our voices matter. I have experienced this first hand with our USDA funding freeze. The USDA did end up giving in and releasing the funds for our project. But, they wouldn't have without a fight - without a lot of people standing up and putting pressure on them. This is proof that being loud can change harmful policies.

It's time for people to speak up for ourselves and others! If you are worried about the future of our children, speak up. If you are against people being picked off the streets and sent to offshore prisons without due process, speak up. If you are against the fast tracking of mining and logging federal lands including in our national parks in the name of a manufactured "energy emergency", speak up! If you are terrified that this administration is defying the Supreme Court, and eroding the check and balances of our democracy, say something! If you are worried about the erosion of civil rights by this administration, stand up. If you're concerned that your children won't get the services they need with the dismantling of the Department of Education, Speak up. Wherever you are, show up fully and speak up. Speak up for yourselves and for those who are afraid.

"Dictators don't take power. People give it to them." I'm not sure who said this but I think of it often. If we don't fight for our freedom and democracy it will be taken from us and that's what's happening right now. I have taken for granted the rights and freedoms I was born with in this country. I always assumed they were a given, but they are not. No one is going to come save us and protect our freedoms. We need to save ourselves and our future by fighting for it. That is democracy.

I feel overwhelmed and anxious and I know a lot of you do too . Last weekend at a rally I struck up a conversation with a woman named Kat. Kat told me that she keeps to herself and is generally very introverted but she's so upset about what's happening in our country she decided that she needed to get out of her comfort zone by coming to the rally (completely alone) to connect with people and get involved. That's power!

Please join me in talking with everyone you know, especially people that think differently. Normalize resistance and protesting by talking about it and inviting people to join you. Remain inclusive and meet people where they are. Blaming your neighbor for voting for Trump and yelling at people driving by in Teslas does not help our country move forward. It does the opposite. We are all in this together and we need to break through barriers. Most people want the same things...love, security and freedom. That's where we make connections! Join others feeling like you do. Here's where you can find them.

I am looking for protest buddies! Here's a few things coming up this week in Baltimore. Sign Making at Union Craft Brewing on Tuesday, April 29th. Then on Thursday, May 1 there will be a May Day Strong rally at 5:30pm but there will be smaller rallies, on various specific issues, that feed into the main rally. I will be at the Family and Kids March that starts at 4:30pm. You can stand with me. Reach out if you want to coordinate a meetup!

I appreciate you reading this all the way through and I want to leave you with words from Timothy Snyder, a history professor at Yale University that studies authoritarian regimes. "Freedom means you decide who you are and then when things change around you, you continue to be that person and in so doing, you do constructive work, set an example for others, meet new people trying to remain themselves." This is the essence of resistance. Keep being yourself, out in the open, instead of retreating into yourself and your grief. Feeling anxious and lonely is what makes authoritarianism possible. To fight it means to live your life fully, out in the open. Lead by example. And do it with joy and compassion.

Thank you Senator Van Hollen and all of you who know what you believe in, who you are and what you are willing to fight for.

See you in the streets!

- Elisa Lane

Meet Me In the Streets

See you in the streets!