Standing Up For the Knits and Purls

This morning I was watching a news report, they were of course talking about our President Elect Donald Trump. He was denying people to ask questions at a press release because he didn't agree with their affiliated news.
This made me think of the Hamilton show, where Vice President Elect Pence was there. They spoke of their concerns for the future, and asked to be listened to as much as any other citizen. A friend of mine asked me what I felt about that. I didn't know what to say at the time. He said that when he goes to a show, he doesn't want to see that kind of thing and that if they were upset they should go to Facebook. In retrospect, I disagree with him. The actors of the show were in a position to speak and be heard. Is that too much to ask for from a worried people? Yoda once said: "fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate...to suffering". People fear the future and we have already seen the anger, and I know there is hate on this subject, so is the next thing suffering?
Something else I have been thinking about is why haven't people congregated together to protest this? I was not alive for Vietnam, but, to my understanding, there was this same fear for our safety and rights, anger towards our government officials, and hate for what was happening around them. Suffering came in with the troops returning home from a war that some did not agree with, but were forced into because of the draft.
We are in a country that is capable of standing up in situations like this and to tell our government representatives and officials that this is not acceptable. So, why, if so many people are upset is not a larger population taking to the streets? Instead, people are going to Facebook with their grievances, but is anyone listening? I see another friend of mine posting these petitions on Facebook, and I wonder 'Are they legitimate? Are people that can do something about it seeing this?'
A few months back, I don't remember the precise setting, but I do believe it had something to do with the Pride festivals in Buffalo and Rochester. My partner, Joe, has been helping in coordinating the Rochester Pride for many years and I took a moment to thank him for that work. He said it felt like it was his duty to help that effort. He said that it is people like us who are making differences in the world, helping to de-stigmatize the world. I told him, I didn't feel like I was a gay adversary. Although I do recall going back to my high school and an old teacher thanking me for being who I was in those times because it helped younger students see that it was alright to be "out" in high school. I give nearly all my gratitude to my parents, and my family, for letting me be just whoever I wanted to be growing up. But, I've digressed, I told Joe I really feel like I am an advocate of the clothe, not religion, of clothes.
I recall a few summers ago, going down to the artistic area in Buffalo and meeting a group of friends of mine at an art gallery during the Buffalo Infringement Festival and we spent the evening spinning with our wheels, our charka, and our drop spindles. People couldn't believe that we did this. At that time I thought nothing of it, this is fun. But now, I think this is part of our heritage as human beings. We are moving into a world that takes away from our creativity and asks us for answers and not whys. So when I go out with my knitting or a drop spindle and I start doing either in public, it is to show people that this is how things get done, not by sitting at home and wishing things would happen. Things get done by doing something physical, tactile, verbal. Now, I'm not saying to go out and protest. Remember Gandhi and why he spun. He spun to take his need to buy British clothe away. But now think, do you want, better yet, can you afford the time to spin, weave, and sew clothes for your whole family? Think of how many people would willingly work in a sweat shop to make all the clothes to supply Target, if we cut trade of with China.
In another topic, I read an article about how genetics found in a heritage breed of sheep helped research in a human illness. Go find those heirloom farms and support them locally, or at least support them in this country. I know it may cost more, but it helps. Help the sheep. Help the nations. Help the world. I know that's a big statement, but I bet we all can do a little, if we stand up for the knits and purls... and what we believe in.