Sometimes the answer does not come right away until someone challenges us. Recently, I was asked what were the intentions of these rallies if attendance is small. For me, the answer was simple. While we might not have made it on the front page of our local newspaper, or stopped people on the street, for me, the rally served an additional purpose, solace. It really doesn't matter if 50 or 100 or 1,000 people attended, what truly matters, is that these rallies can offer comfort in troubling times. There are times we do need those reassurances that we are not alone, and it times like these, even a small gathering of caring individuals can serve as a mental reminder we are never alone and united, we, are powerful and in more ways than one.

Occasionally, we are caught up in our own little blogging world that suddenly one feels they are shouting into an empty chasm. With so many battles going on, it is not far fetched that one may feel they are alone in the struggle. Nevertheless, these small gatherings can actually help clear the mental fog by helping a person find the light at the end of the tunnel by becoming more enlightened to the best and worst that humanity has to offer. Personally, it tends to renew my own commitment to be more conscious human being.

These are troubling times, particularly when irrevocable changes are taking place. People are defining themselves and, in a world which our children see that war is the only answer to solving problems, it is a period when hopelessness and confusion can seize the outlook of masses of people. What we face today is: endless war, irrationalism, racism, massive unemployment, the ruin of our natural resources, and the assault on reason – all in the name of profits.

Although this small protest does not compare to the thousands of people who came out in 2006, this small resistance should remind us of the importance of keeping our ideals. We marched and protested on Saturday, May 24, not because of the current raids conducted by ICE or this government's war on immigrants, but because imperialism and the processes of capital made it necessary to retaliate. It is imperialism that made life impossible in people's homelands, and it is capitalism that has made life nearly impossible in the US.

Imperialism impoverishes people outside the US, where people are pushed out of their birthplaces by starvation, compelling them to come to the US with just the clothes on their backs, while leaving behind their homes and families to search for a better life in the United States. They have dreams and aspirations of making a fresh start in a country created by immigrants. It is upon their arrival that many undocumented immigrants face the harsh reality that they are not welcome here.

Once they arrive, they are rewarded with subsistence jobs, while at the same time being arrested when the fruits and vegetables are picked and when the cities infrastructure is completed. This is the life of the migrant, being shifted back and forth across an artificial border merely to meet the immediate needs of the capitalist elites.

Is this only about economics? No, this is just one part of the problem. This issue does not easily fit into neat compartments allowing for easy analysis and simplistic solutions like some people would like us to swallow. The reality is, it is complicated, and it cuts to the very core of not only what this country is to become … but the world.

The American people can no longer afford to be disconnected from the world, as our actions abroad do have a direct impact on our lives at home. The decisions made in Washington not only affects us here at home but abroad as well and too many of us blindly leave the responsibility of safeguarding our liberties to other people whose interests are not our own. Now, more than ever, is the time to be vigilant. Now is the time to rise and defend those who can not defend themselves at the hands of tyranny.

[ Cross-posted at ¡Para Justicia y Libertad! ]