Preserving Democracy Requires Civic Engagement, Like Last Saturday’s Protest

I was one of the estimated 600 protesters at the Indivisible-RISE rally against the Trump administration’s policies on the Bartlet Mall Saturday, April 19. I donned my 1973 T-shirt, made signs with my husband, and inspired friends from Newburyport and beyond to join us to stand up and speak up.

It was glorious.

I’m a liberal and I’d like to be clear: If the most liberal person in the world were in the White House doing what Trump and his administration are doing, I would be doing the exact same thing. Protesting.

What’s going on now in our country goes beyond politics and parties. It’s about our society, our humanity. It’s easy to clump various political groups together and talk at a high level of what makes sense, what doesn’t, and what “should” be done. It’s easy to be definitive in stances and positions when looking at an issue – such as immigration, education, regulation, tariffs, environment, and healthcare – in theory and from afar. After all, we live in beautiful and affluent Newburyport, Massachusetts. Our lives won’t change that much. Our bubble will persist.

Spoiler alert: Unless we speak up about the injustices of the world right now from our own backyard (or Mall), change will most certainly happen here. And it may well be happening now.

This year the Trump administration cancelled $90 million in disaster prevention aid for Massachusetts. Plum Island residents – regardless of how they voted – can think about that next time a storm hits. More specifically, that cut also cost Newburyport $50,250 for Drinking Water and Watershed Regulations. I believe we all – regardless of how we voted – drink from the same reservoir and pipes.

The Trump administration also nixed $106 million in K-12 Education Funding, which went to mental health support, tutoring, school security, and building upgrades. The Newburyport school district was spared, though my hometown of Lynn, saw $339,357 cut from the school budget. Will that affect me now? No, though it made me think of other people who may have loved ones in affected communities and how it would impact them.

And just this week, the federal government terminated ongoing grants to 365 agencies that target domestic violence and other victims of crimes, effective immediately. Among the entities losing funding is the National CASA Association, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the best interests of abused and neglected children in care-and-protection cases in juvenile courts. CASA stands for “Court-Appointed Special Advocate,” and I am one of 70 volunteers for Essex County CASA. At this point, Essex County CASA can maintain its services for the 150 abused and neglected children and youth in our communities per year, though the loss of federal funds to programs like National CASA and others is an erosion of the safety net necessary to support the most vulnerable in our community.

As a result of these and other federal cuts, Massachusetts legislators will be looking to offset these losses in the FY2026 budget. In Essex County CASA’s case, advocates have begun the process of contacting state representatives to co-sponsor Amendment #1208 to H4000 to secure state funding for all Massachusetts CASA programs. To learn more about the budget process, check out the Operating Budgets (FY26 and Previous) section on mass.gov, and if you don’t know who your state legislators are, I highly recommend getting to know them. Remember, they work for you. If you or a loved one have ever experienced abuse or neglect, consider contacting your state representative and senator to advocate for FY26 funding for CASA and similar entities that help the vulnerable.

The connection of national-state-local governments is real, albeit convoluted and confusing even in the best and most generous of times. Now more than ever, it’s vital to pay attention to what’s happening beyond our zip code. Pay attention to what is happening nationally and — given our country’s stature and impact in the world – globally.

Democracy is inherently messy, and if there is a silver lining from all this chaos, perhaps it will awaken us to the fact that democracy only works when citizens are armed with facts, not memes, and engaged fully and civilly. It will help us realize that democracy is more than national elections every two or four years. It will help us see that depending on our level of involvement, we’ll get the government we deserve.

Bringing it back to the protest last Saturday, I received a question about my T-shirt. “What does 1973 mean?”

It’s the year the U.S. Supreme Court came down with its Roe v. Wade decision legalizing women’s rights to abortion.

“I was there and protested then,” said one woman in her mid-70s, pointing at my T-shirt smiling.

And she’s here now. That’s engagement.

Claire Papanastasiou
Former legal journalist, PR Professional, and product of the Lynn Public School System
Newburyport resident

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