By Robert Scott

All writers in Op Ed are here to inform and acknowledge issues of importance to our communities, however these writings represent the views and opinions of the authors and not necessarily of The Advertiser.

Have you ever marched in a protest march? Have you ever participated in a protest demonstration? When I was a new voter, the political issue generating the most demonstrations and marches was opposing the Vietnam War. Most of the participants seemed to be about my age at the time: late teens to mid-twenties, because that was the demographic of the military draft. Those protesting were loud and insistent; there was some violence, although almost all protests were peaceful. The loud and violent were, of course, much more newsworthy, and the Vietnam War was the first “television war” in that every Evening News broadcast covered that day’s progress (or lack of progress) in the war as well as in the protests. Protesters were called anti-American or even pro-Communist. It appeared that the nation as a whole did not support the protests, but before long those protesting against the war started winning elections, and national support for the war melted away. The protestors deemed themselves the true Americans, and eventually they became the majority.

We are seeing a similar evolution now, but with a difference. The difference is this: the largest single demographic in the 1960s consisted of people about my age, and the largest single demographic now is again people about my age – but my age is almost 60 years higher. It feels different, somehow, when my protesting peers are again nonviolent and again carrying more American Flags than any other symbol, but they need more frequent stops to rest and to take bathroom breaks.

How many people are now protesting? The reported number of protesters nationwide in October 2025 was around 7 million, give or take; there was no sign-in, and as some who arrived early needed to leave early, others were just arriving. Nevertheless, all the national reports centered on that number. For comparison, the total population of South Carolina at the last census was just over 5 million, including men, women, and children (and, as the Constitution requires, including non-citizens). Think about that: it’s as if the entire population of South Carolina was out there protesting. It certainly felt like that, for those of us participating.

Various political scientists have posited a “tipping point” of 12 million participants, as the point when those in political power can no longer ignore the issues being protested. The No Kings rallies were unfocused due to all the issues the Trump Administration stands for, so many actions being protested that no one of them beyond an amorphous sense of disempowerment was as unifying as opposing the Vietnam War had been over a half-century ago.

But numbers are important. There are certain to be more protests in the near future. If you find yourself among the growing number of South Carolinians who think we are (again) heading down the wrong path, whether you are the age I was in the 1960s or the age I am now or anywhere in between, you should consider joining us. It’s important.