K vonKrenner
3 min readJul 1, 2020

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Portland,Or Shuttering Against Protests 2020

The Closing Of America

As the country erupts into a peculiar, unified fracturing, the incoming economic tsunami of July is only a few weeks away. On the near horizon is the ending of the Federal pandemic funding with little hope of more. Carrots of “bonus pay” and a second stimulus check are just that. Carrots of false hope. Our divided government is too busy fighting across the aisle to address the immediate needs of their constituents. Back months of accumulated rents, student loan payments and limited unemployment will push people to the edge of survival. Many jobs will never return and without further funding to pay employees, more jobs will be lost.

City shops are boarded up, trendy cafes permanently closed and fashion has taken a hiatus as we hunker down under Maslow’s hierarchy. The new normal. Our needs have become simply to survive each day. No amount of Pandora beads can sparkle the fear of our future away.

The rage that bears the name “George Floyd” has crashed the door revealing accumulated years of civil distrust in both the government and the future. Media blackouts and directed attacks at journalists imply a deeper agenda to undermine and take control of legitimate information systems and silence alternative voices.

Trumps announcement to send in federal military forces under the guise of quelling “riots vs protests” is yet another thrust at unseating the individual powers of States and pitting Red against Blue. Civil war is no longer a historical conversation but a vibrating chant in the streets.

The National Emergencies Act that is being bandied about, is a Federal law that formalizes the emergency powers of a president and can only be activated by special procedures. Formal procedures and acts, not, willy-nilly or by personal decree. In other words, the President my feel inclined to declare a national emergency but it must be then transmitted to Congress and published in the Federal Register. Our beloved forefathers kicking in again with a “checks and balances” to prevent an abuse of power.

State Governors are authorised, by their citizens, to maintain order in their states and are meant to be the political, primary defense mechanisms for protection from Federal interference in local issues. The “Posse Comitatus Act” signed into law by President Rutherford Hayes in 1878 effectively outlaws the use of the Federal Army or Air Force to execute the law without an act of Congress or, as specifically outlined in the Constitution. Which simply means, legally, they can’t come marching in just because they want to.

To date, there has been no official declaration for a National Emergency or, a follow-up act of Congress. Protests do Not qualify as an insurrection and are clearly protected under the Constitution. The insertion of agitators from unknown sources leads one to question an agenda designed to provoke and incite individual internal state parties against each other.

Should military troops enter States, unauthorised by Congress, States and citizens would have the right to defend themselves. And, as we know, American citizens are armed. It will take very little, in the current environment to set that spark alight. As the night rocks with ongoing protests and citizens are arrested we must take responsibility to preserve not only our individual rights but our Union and American dream. We are united with an equal voice of “liberty and justice for all”. Let us remember, we are not defined as Democrats or Republicans, we are first and foremost, Americans.

As we live and die in these chaotic days, borders are closing fast around Americans keeping them internally herded. The debated Wall is no longer keeping immigrants out but the people in. Several countries have indicated that they will not welcome Americans into their countries due to pandemic concerns. As the world watches to see the end result of our democratic experiment, they emotionally support the protesters and rally behind us.

This does not negate a second-wave fear of the pandemic. The protests bare to the world not only the fractured American political systems but the continued lack of leadership and management of the Covid-19 pandemic. The America First philosophy is being met with a rebuttal of “America Stay Home” we won’t die for you.

In the end, we are left with one question. Do we still believe in the dream of America?

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K vonKrenner

Karin, a writer, traveler & freelance journalist covers the human story around the world. She tends to be in the wrong place at the right time@ kvkrenner.com