The last line in a letter written by the activist group Ladies of Liberty reads, “Remember: Dissent is Patriotic.” Their message is timely. On Thursday, President Bush will be re-inaugurated. The rage which inspired activism after Bush claimed the presidency in 2000 appears to have subsided into a lethargic response of depression and denial, as The Stranger’s Amy Jenniges reports:

“For lefties who became political activists for the first time in their lives last year, the realization that their hard work didn’t turn Bush out of office has translated into feelings of grief, frustration, depression, apathy, and denial — but not anger. Anger can inspire people to protest. Depression and denial lead people to hibernate, drink, and check out of politics.”

With many freedoms at stake, the Ladies of Liberty are one of several protest groups who will march in counter-inaugural rallies this Thursday, January 20th. The Ladies have organized a peaceful protest in the form of a funeral procession and will be accompanied by a New Orleans-style jazz band in mourning for “the multiple blows to the American people dealt by the Bush Administration (and the prospect of four more years of the same), as well as [in celebration for] the possibilities of rebirth and regeneration.” The blows the Ladies cite include those to the areas of women’s rights, gay rights, reproductive rights, social security, the democratic process, environmental conditions, free speech, principles of inclusion, economic equality and freedom from arbitrary imprisonment.

Some American citizens view Bush’s majority win in 2004 as a justification for silence, although they oppose his administration. Still others envision his victory as a last-ditch effort on the part of conservative America to protest the increasing speed of life in the 21st century by grasping at any straw which might slow the process down. Groups like the Ladies of Liberty voice the belief that multiple perspectives are not only rooted in American culture, they must be nurtured and provided with plenty of sunlight.

“Now the trumpet summons us again,” said John F. Kennedy in his 1961 Inauguration Speech, “not as a call to bear arms, not as a call to battle, but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation.”