This is an opinion column.
Fight the Power, they say, and sing, and shout.
I say it, too. Often. Fight the Man, the Machine, the System. All of it. It’s sorta my thing.
But I wasn’t in Washington D.C. the last few weeks like Kirsten Laha-Walsh, a Navy veteran and UA grad student, spouse of a Marine Corps Purple Heart recipient who was exposed to toxins while fighting for this country we share.
Laha-Walsh sees things a little differently.
She was there for days, in the rain and the steam of the swampy D.C. summer, in a sit-in outside the U.S. Capitol – alongside a devoted core of others, and comedian Jon Stewart, sometimes – begging senators to see and hear, to get beyond petty partisan politics and pass the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our (PACT) Act. The act will provide healthcare for vets exposed to toxins, essentially allowing the Veteran’s Administration to cover some cancers and other issues with a presumption they were developed in service.
Laha-Walsh – a first-time public demonstrator – was there when supporters brought food and umbrellas, when veterans turned up a karaoke machine to sing the Navy fight song, “Anchors Aweigh.”
“Who does that?” she laughed, marveling at the kinship born in duty and aged with resolve and patience – and love for one another – in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol.
She was there when right-wing personalities tried to disrupt the demonstrations, when senators from her home in Alabama voted against a bill to ease the suffering of American veterans. She was there through it all, ultimately to be invited into the Senate gallery, to hear jokes by Stewart as he launched into imitations of Sen. Bernie Sanders as the Vermont Independent wandered around the floor “doing Bernie Sanders things.”
“It was probably the best two hours of my life because I had my own private comedy show,” she said.
That and making a difference at the same time.
Laha-Walsh was there through downs, and ups, in moments it seemed this bill would die in a partisan tantrum. She was there in her Wounded Warrior Project T-shirt when the final vote of passage came, and with it the realization that her presence, and that of all who bothered to show up or speak up, mattered.
She was there amid the tears of hardened warriors as ushers led her out of that landmark of democracy, feeling they had held their posts and done duty in a persistent but respectful way. They honored their service and their country. They made special point to honor the Capitol Police, who had their own duty to fulfill, she said.
It seemed to me she and her companions fought the Power, the Man, the System, and won a rare victory. But as I said, she had a different view.
“You don’t have to fight the system,” she said. “You have to be a part of the system and fight for change. Anybody can do that. And that’s what we did.”
Power to the people.
People ask often how to make change in a world that seems bought and paid for, in a place where political party is a bigger predictor of outcome than reason or right. They want to know how to make a difference without losing yourself to violence, or revolt, or futility.
Maybe it’s all in that simple sentence.
“You have to be part of the system and fight for change.”
No head in the sand. No head in the clouds. No head in that place it goes to ignore the wider world.
“When things go wrong, come together as a community,” she said.
I do hope she is right. But it’s good advice. Call your senators and representatives, she said. Email them, show up and show them you are serious. Be seen. Be heard. Be undeterred. And when you can, be respectful.
Laha-Walsh has been invited – she’ll be a good representative of the state – to the White House for the Rose Garden signing of the PACT Act. It is scheduled for today.
She is proud of those who stood in the rain and heat, proud of her service in the military and beyond. Proud of the veteran community.
“I chose to go into the military to fight for our freedom. And a lot of veterans still feel that way,” she said. “Yes, I got out of the military, but the military never got out of me.”
I keep thinking about that thing she said:
“You don’t have to fight the system. You have to be a part of the system and fight for change.”
Maybe that takes some fight, too.
John Archibald is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for AL.com.
Ad Choices