When Donald Trump proclaimed on the first day of his lame-duck presidency that the ancient, globally recognized Gulf of Mexico would receive his own new moniker from that day forward, I recognized what dictatorship looked like. His fundamental attack on common reality, on history, on the right to speech itself, was an opening salvo on democracy here in the United States. And places beyond. This international body of water was known to people across the globe by its centuries-old Aztec-derived name. Now, one petty soul on a planet of eight billion people was demanding all global maps be changed.

Trump’s intent was clear; to convey dictatorial powers far beyond those long recognized in this republic. That haughty, petulant display subtly announced his motives to a slowly awakening free world: “I’ll define reality, I will control speech, publication — even the understanding and existence of history and meaning itself.”

Shamefully, all our billionaire tech giants quickly acceded to that bullying whim, wiping away all common understanding via a few keystrokes. Major news media outlets here soon bent to those twisted linguistic demands. All, save one.

Laudably, the Associated Press faced down that bully’s assault and stood up for the full intent of our First Amendment’s free speech, free press and rights to peaceably assemble. For that noteworthy courage the AP was immediately barred from the White House press briefings, and forbidden to board on Air Force One.

Four years prior, on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump exhorted a camouflage-sporting crowd to hear his words on the Capitol Mall without requiring them to pass through weapons detectors. That signaled he was gunning for more than just a take-down of Joe Biden’s court-vetted presidential victory. His call-outs to Vice President Pence to not confirm the people’s vote made it clear this was war on our Constitution. “We won in a landslide,” he lied, then, inviting his MAGA acolytes to join in his bidding, said, “So let’s walk down Pennsylvania Avenue.” But Trump never went.

The ensuing siege lasted hours. DC and national park police were bludgeoned and gassed; Congress was forced into cowering lock-down. Journalist’s equipment got smashed. Meanwhile, the mob’s joint-venture accomplice watched it all, live, from the safety of the White House a mile away.

This was the mirror opposite of the Bill of Right’s freedom to assemble. I suddenly felt I lived in a country where the Supreme Court’s gathering right-turn decisions on women’s rights, voting rights, race, surveillance, guns and due process had all helped oxygenate a vigilante mob mentality. Their man-hunting automatic weapons decisions for citizen sales and availability brushed aside all common-sense interpretations of the Second Amendment’s “well-regulated militia.” It now seemed another paving stone and signpost on the road to mob violence.

The angry Jan. 6 crowd — assembled and exhorted by a losing presidential candidate, seemed to me the embodiment of the court’s twisted Second Amendment reasoning, helping silence, blunt and supersede our defining First Amendment freedoms. Meanwhile, a self-satisfied Donald Trump sat watching it all on Fox TV from a mile away. Glory without the guts.

I didn’t sit down that January afternoon. As insufficient as it seemed, I grabbed a piece of cardboard and a marker and wrote out “DEMOCRACY!” in fat bold letters, and headed to the proverbial town square. From around 2 p.m. until sometime after 4:30 p.m. as darkness fell, I stood in the gray gloom in a small act of civil defense. Few people were out, but some honked recognizing that mob’s attempt at a national coup. Though my presence changed nothing that day, it changed me. There are some fights you can’t walk away from.

This was not my first time on the city common. I’ve been there across 20 years. The first, to protest a grim, two-decade war that cost us our souls and the lives of over 4,500 U.S. soldiers, and those of over 300,00 Iraqi civilians— all because mostly-Saudi actors attacked the World Trade Center. A trumped-up “weapon of mass destruction” graphic generated war fervor and ultimately cost trillions of taxpayer dollars as weapons manufactures bloated-up on profits from “no-bid” supply deals. Today, Trump blithely hold’s court with the Saudi prince who ordered the murder of a NY Times journalist.

So, where it comes to defending the First Amendment and Constitution I won’t be standing down. As a journalist and citizen, I’ll continue to stand out with a free people and the Associated Press, fighting to safeguard the bedrock sanctity of our First Amendment in this democracy. Nearly 250 years ago common people fought to win and protect those civil freedoms, continuing down to this day. Their inherent democracy is the greatest gift anyone can offer to future generations. They have value beyond measure. I intend to pass them on as my duty to my country.

Karl Meyer lives in Greenfield.