I am on a personal campaign to warn the public of the dangers of a Trump presidency. My goal is to travel to 48 state capitals by Election Day—holding my sign for 2 hours in front of each capitol building, talking to those I meet, contacting local press outlets, and using social media. On Saturday I reached the halfway point in my journey, standing in Boise, ID, my 24th state capital in 24 days.
While watching a PBS Special on September 20 about Unitarian minister Waitstill Sharp and his wife Martha, who risked their lives and left their children in the care of others to go to Europe and rescue people targeted by the Nazis, I thought of how the candidacy of Donald Trump puts our country at risk of going horribly wrong.
Donald Trump may not be evil, but he is undisciplined, erratic, petty, inept, lacking a moral sense, and unstable. He is unfit to hold the office of President and his incompetence would be enough to allow hate and anger to gain ground in our country and perhaps get out of control. That could lead a Trump government to take authoritarian measures to quell domestic unrest–perhaps even leading to the curtailment of our First Amendment rights of freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the press, such as the Russian people are experiencing under Putin, a man Trump admires.
I thought of these words: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
I tried to think of something I could do, although not on the order of the mortal risks taken by the Sharps. First I thought of speaking out in my home state of Massachusetts, but immediately realized that this election would not be decided in Massachusetts, and that I would have to go to a “red” or Republican-leaning state. It was then that I had the idea of going to the capital cities in every state except Alaska and Hawaii. Online I found a route worked out by a scientist at the University of Pennsylvania. It looked possible to complete the route in the 48 days remaining until the election. I floated the idea with my family, got their approval, did a trial run in Providence and Boston on September 22 and was encouraged, spent two days preparing and packing, and set out in my Yaris, headed for Maine, on September 25.
I am using Facebook to chronicle my journey on a daily basis, and to a lesser extent Twitter. My website 48 States in 48 Days includes maps of my route, a schedule, ways that others can help support my efforts, and a press kit.