On Capitol insurrection anniversary, Acton rally says ‘Never again’

The speakers were blunt. 

“We have a problem,” said Acton Indivisible’s Diane Proctor to a crowd on the First Parish lawn. “Democracy is imperiled.” 

On the third anniversary of the Capitol insurrection, the local Indivisible chapter hosted a lineup of speakers, each of whom exhorted the chilly participants to recognize the danger of watching American democracy slip away.

“We are here because you are here,” said former Governor Deval Patrick, acknowledging the at-times boisterous crowd. “Citizenship is an action, not just a concept and I’m uneasy about democracy.”

“Citizenship is an action, not just a concept and I’m uneasy about democracy.”

Patrick warned against “normalizing behavior” that restricts voting and curbs personal freedoms. 

“There’s more to talk about than outrage,” he said. “There’s more than name-calling and one up-manship.”

He urged the crowd to “make democracy matter; make citizenship meaningful.” 

Citing the words of former Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank, Patrick said, “Government is the name we give to the things we choose to do together.” 

Fight with love 

Former gubernatorial candidate Danielle Allen recounted an intense back-and-forth she had with a reader of a column she wrote after the Israel-Gaza war broke out. The reader emailed threats and obscenity-laden tirades which she answered calmly, never returning verbal fire. Eventually the two found common ground and the unidentified reader apologized for his crude emails. 

“Recommit to nonviolence,” Allen said. “Fight with love.”

Acton resident Rob Munro said democracy fails in the face of exclusion, pitting citizens against one another. 

State Rep. Carmine Gentile, D-Sudbury, said the upcoming 250th anniversary of the start of the Revolutionary War “would be bittersweet if we elect those who would destroy the very thing the soldiers fought and died for.” 

“This is a dangerous time in the nation’s history,” said Gentile.

Cleanup speaker State Rep. Simon Cataldo, D-Acton, recalled that he stood on the First Parish steps a year ago as a newly elected representative and felt “optimistic” about the future. As an attorney in the Justice Department several years ago, Cataldo prosecuted Sheriff Joe Arpaio on corruption charge, who and was later pardoned by former President Donald Trump. But Arpaio was defeated at the polls, leading Cataldo to believe in the power of the voting public. 

“Activism voted him out,” said Cataldo.

He told the history of Founding Father John Adams who represented British soldiers, “the most unpopular people” on trial for killing American soldiers. 

“He did it because he believed in the rule of law,” said Cataldo. “He risked everything in defense” of the British regulars. 

“We can do this again,” said Cataldo. “Go out and engage in hard conversations out of love for our country.”