By Robert J. Crosby

Those who waited hours (some days) in line for the Trump rally on Thursday, Jan. 9, in Toledo, Ohio, were cheerful, happy and having fun. Lots of chatter and discussion as the line crawled on.

Capitalists were everywhere, selling pizza, drinks and lots of Trump paraphernalia. Quite festive, despite the chilling wind.

Trump did not disappoint the crowd; he hit all the points expected. He made fun of the mainstream media, the press “pit” being roundly jeered by the crowd. And his making fun of his political opponents, always a favorite! The “Trump show” is fun, free and you just might learn something!

Trump supporters know he is not perfect (who is) but, love him. And, no surprise, others do not.

We all should cherish freedom of expression; it is foundational to American society and our great experiment in representative governance.

At this first rally of the election year, we had protesters who expressed their views in a sometimes loud but non-violent manner that I earnestly hope is repeated by all parties through November. Along with the usual anti-Trump signs and chants, a giant blow-up rat circled the crowd (not to be confused with a blow-up pig that was there, with similar accoutrements).

The rat, wearing a red Trump hat, was throttling a hard-hatted union worker in one hand and clutching a big bag of cash in the other. This same rat, sans Trump hat, has been trotted out by local Toledo unions for many years at strikes and protests against non-union construction. The first time I saw it, it put me in mind of Nazi propaganda films that showed rats eating grain stores that morphed into caricatured Jews eating away at Europe. The dismaying thought in my mind then was, “Goebbels would be pleased.” Strangely I found the Trump rat amusing because, let’s face it, Trump makes politics FUN!

Another image of the day was a man with white hair and beard, dressed head-to-toe in white, clutching a Bible in one hand and holding a cross in the other. Affixed to the crux was a white handwritten sign that said: “Matthew 19:14 suffer the children… pray to Jesus, vote pro- life.” A powerful image, this silent man standing alone in front of the dump trucks placed there to protect all the protesters from harm. More poignant, perhaps, that this fellow was likely so far removed from the main body of protesters because his pro-life message would not be tolerated by the “woke” anti-Trumpers. Maybe I’m wrong; I hope so.

LUX INVICTUS