America, Worth the Hope & the Pain?

Some think so ...

I am not an expert in estimating crowd size. I have read headlines stating, “Hundreds gathered in Lisbon for HandsOff rally.” I was there and estimated the gathering between 150 and 200. About 70-100 gathered in Lagos, and I was given an estimate of 150 in Porto. ¹

Sign at a US rally … at times like these, you have to laugh.

Blur the Faces

I traveled to Lisbon with two friends living in Vermont, who visit Algarve each winter.² One holds a Canadian passport but has lived (legally) in the US for decades. She asked that I not include her picture in this post as they are returning to the US later this week. She is concerned about passport control once she reaches American soil. At first, I thought this was an overly cautious request. But, the organizer of the Lisbon event asked that we not post the face of any rally participant on social media without their consent.

I took the photo above from the rear hoping to comply. I felt sad that someone would voice these concerns. Then I remembered, that due process is no longer a certainty in America.

I did ask this woman if it was okay.

Reuters Was There

However, reporters and photographers from Reuters were there…as they were at other European rallies. So any expectation of anonymity was gone.

The Reuters guy is the one clothed.

Lamb Chop Made an Appearance

My Canadian friend commented that the crowd was nearly all “older” Americans. She counted only 7 people under 40 among us. I responded that most Americans living in Portugal are retired and/or we haven’t figured out how to plug in the digital nomad community. I hope it is not that they don’t care or don’t think they can make a difference.

It turns out that Shari Lewis’s daughter has moved to Cascais. She is now Lamb Chop’s guardian, and she also commented on the age of the crowd.

I Wish Donald Studied History

It is clear that the current president was not a great student. He is even worse at history than I was.³ If he had studied a bit more about his “favorite word”, he would know that the 1930 Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act was responsible for the Great Depression and the rise of fascism.⁴ You may be wondering why I raise this issue. Well, it seems that most of my readers are either retired or hoping to retire soon. As such, they are not only concerned about the fate of the Nation but also their IRA/401K. I understand your concern.⁵

Hope and Pain

The past few months have confirmed that pain is sometimes a result of hope. Before the November election, I was hopeful … that feeling of hope made the pain all the worse a few days later.

Of course, I could bury my head in the sand, thinking that if I ignore the news, it will not affect me. In the short term, while enjoying the Portuguese sunshine on my face, that works.⁶ I am convinced that it is one of the reasons the current administration is flooding the crazy zone. They hope that continuous pain will lead to hopelessness.

Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) clinicians have documented more sophisticated forms of torture over the years, especially methods of psychological torture, that do not leave physical scars. This makes it more difficult for survivors to seek redress… - CVT.org

But to quote Senator Booker more fully:

“Hope confronts. It does not ignore pain, agony, or injustice. It is not a saccharine optimism that refuses to see, face, or grapple with the wretchedness of reality. You can't have hope without despair, because hope is a response. Hope is the active conviction that despair will never have the last word.” — Cory Booker

Hoping you make an active conviction to hope …

Na próxima semana ... é tempo de impostos, estão preparados?

Nanc

Or, at times like these, you can join me in making and enjoying goofy signs and JOIN ME ON BLUESKY.

A friend’s sign referencing Mary Poppins.

None made me laugh as hard as the one at the top of this post.

My sign

Note: I am now on BlueSky!

1. If you were at any of these events and wish to provide your estimate…please comment.

2. Our 5:00 bus (which was to arrive at 9:15) got stuck in a traffic jam entering Lisbon. As such, we arrived at Praça do Comércio a little late. I apologize I was not able to meet more of you!

3. The good news is that while my high school history studies weren’t great I have discovered as an adult I am curious about what happened before I landed on this planet.

4. Or is the later his plan?

5. Remember, I love my spreadsheets and have the courage to update it with the changes in the market.

6. And, of course, many are dealing with other issues in their life that make the clown show in Washington seem a far lower priority.