United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump’s second term is officially in full swing, his wide agenda quickly taking the country by storm. Deep down in the nation’s very heart, however, many have started to express their different opinions regarding the swift and rather abrupt changes sweeping through the place they call home. Fueled with anger and supported with help from the First Amendment, the people have started to hum their irritation in protest, their anger now only a few inches away from the White House’s pearly front doors.
The word ‘protest’ has claimed a lot of weight in history books, its use in the globe’s first revolutions still sparking trends within society today. Demonstrated by well-known activists including Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi, protesting is one of the many important instruments needed to perfect the melody for change, as its beginning notes act as a call-to-action for all those who will eventually sing in the song’s chorus. After Trump’s induction back into the White House, he, along with his political partner Elon Musk, have quickly made good on their promises to move quickly with their agenda, enforcing new policies regarding illegal immigration, the recent national energy crisis, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion framework and more. However, many of these recent changes have not sit well within U.S. citizens lying both inside country borders and out, kindling uprisings as a modern, rather dystopian approach to the anger today.
“The protests, while peaceful, still disrupt daily life in and around the country, and I do not think they will stop until the government listens,” Nicholas Wright, sophomore, said.
In the highest mountains and the deepest valleys, the crisp, freedom-filled air has been eerily tainted with the electrifying tension hidden behind closed doors belonging to citizens afraid of what might happen if they speak up. Defying this fear, however, many events have begun to pop up around the U.S., clearly laying down the issues the people have collected following the new changes imposed to Make America Great Again (MAGA). On Jan. 18, 2025, thousands of U.S. citizens gathered at the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., protesting with homemade signs and loud voices their frustration against the lack of women’s reproduction rights. Though many of these chants filled the atmosphere loudly and proudly, a silent protest too clouded the country for a day, casting quiet over the typically loud U.S.; on Feb. 3, 2025, a protest known as A Day Without Immigrants arose, as those of Mexican descent who have immigrated to the U.S. participated in none of their day-to-day activities to represent the true impact they have on the nation that has seemingly turned its back on them.
“I am appalled by democracy’s changes in the last, well, specifically two weeks — but [the changes] started a long time ago, so I am just trying to put a presence into resistance,” Margaret Wilmeth, protester, said.
Straying away from the 50 states, intense protests have started to swallow various areas around the globe as others start to show their support to the U.S., doing so to aid the nation’s citizens currently wishing for change. On April 5, 2025, crowds in both the U.S. and Europe filled the streets with angry voices and signs displaying threatening messages towards Trump and his agenda, claiming that he has attacked his nation’s democracy, and that he and his administration need to take their ‘Hands Off’ U.S. agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education and various federal health agencies. Additionally, messages in various social media platforms have circulated throughout countries everywhere, using phrases such as ‘deny, defend, depose’ and famous protest songs including “Do You Hear The People Sing?” from the hit musical Les Misérables to rally the people.
“I feel a little nervous right now; I do not want [the protests] to get out of hand,” Harper Shultz, freshman, said.
The U.S. is only a couple years away from its 250th birthday, celebrating everything its Founding Fathers dedicated their lives to. However, instead of birthday balloons, protest signs seem to be the latest trend, and the candles lying upon the cake have been used as hot fuel for an uprising. As Trump’s second presidential term progresses, people everywhere continue to make use of the only thing they truly have as they hammer through the unstable brick wall plastered with political uncertainty: their voice.
