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 4th of July protest, Philadelphia Peter W. Brunner, p. 3 07/05/01 Four of us drove to Philly on the 4th to scream, yell, and make life miserable for the thief. Lois and I are very vocal while our spouses are shy. My wife Beth makes the signs and walks with me but you can tell that sheÕs embarrassed. We arrived around 2 P.M., an hour early just to find a parking spot. As it turned out we had no problem finding parking and all parking was free on the streets. We walked into Washington Square Park just as Ambassador Alan L. Keyes gave an address to the public. He is the Chairman of the Declaration Foundation. He talked of civil liberties, inclusion (the opposite of disenfranchising which wasnÕt lost on me), the Declaration, and the meaning of the Constitution (as it applies to voting). In other words, he was speaking of us. His speech could have been read at Voter March on the Capitol steps. He looked our way a few times because we where the ones applauding so loud. 3 OÕclock came so we looked around for a large crowd of people, we found people. Out of the bunch one guy stood out, loud and running around. I said Michael is that you, the man yes, IÕm Michael (legitgov.org). We only had a few minutes to talk before we marched to Independence Hall and the Liberty Mall in front of it. I spent that time handing out Fringe Folk material and talking about "Rose" and "Diva", my two favorite people. Off we go, yelling and chanting all the usual stuff for two blocks. (Long walk huh) We arrived at the Liberty bell where we were greeting by PhillyÕs finest, non-uniformed police. Michael gave them all the information on who we were and why we were there. At this point youÕre all waiting for me to give you horror stories about police brutality and hostility but sorry, I canÕt. This is Philadelphia, a democratic town, on a day that celebrated the Declaration and Liberty for all and much to Bushes chagrin, that included us. This is a day for honoring Patriots and we, as Patriots, were the only game in town. The policemen and women all of who were minorities helped us, smiled a lot, and in my opinion were glad we were there. For the first few minutes we stayed in the back yelling across the street at the repugs with their shiny new signs. Neither could hear each other for all the busses driving by. This got me antsy and bored so I reconnoitered the area. A Veteran, in construction of 30 years, and living in the area I have no fear, after all, this is my town. I walked along the side of the Mall toward the front of Independence Hall carrying my sign and smiling. The crowd was starting to get larger but there was still a lot of room for more. Much to my surprise on my walk not one heckler, some frowns of disapproval yes but mostly thumbs up and smiles. A lot of people want to read the signs and start to say something but I would just say "you canÕt come to Philly on the 4th without running into at least one Patriot". They were about to meet a lot more. Back at the gang again I reported in with an "all clear" so just when the police thought they had us contained, we move on, chanting all the way. Now picture this, we go thru the crowd with no problem to a dead end (secret service barricade), problem right-----wrong, the police let us stay there and made room for us. Now if it werenÕt for a truck in front of us blocking our view we would have been in the thiefÕs face. No more than a couple hundred feet away we matched every yea, with a boo, every applause with a chant and I know we were louder, we screamed. Later when I ran into people who were in front of the stage and asked if we were heard, they replied hell yes, through his whole speech you could hear us. On a personal note, remember how Isaid "my embarrassed wife" well, from time to time IÕd step back or look over at her and there she was screaming so loud her voice went hoarse. Talk about the mouse the roared. Speech over and from what IÕve heard, no standing ovation or much spontaneous anything from the people most of which where there by invitation only, we left. We walked back to the Liberty bell and as luck or providence smiling on us would have it there in front of us was the motorcade. So, like it or not the selected president drove right into us. His last view of Philadelphia was (to quote the Inquire) "70 protesters" in his face. Seventy, I donÕt think so but loud, yes, committed, yes. After the protest a few hung around, took in the sights, and went over to the Art Museum for the reading of the Declaration of Independence (from an original copy), a stage show, and fire works. They say a million people showed up for that. I was there, and that number I believe. It was a long day for us but well worth it I just wish that more friends and resistance fighters could have come. To be a Patriot on a day that celebrates Patriots is something you can tell your kids about, not to mention the pride of standing up to injustice. Respectfully Submitted, 
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