A curious thing is happening in America, and you'd have to work pretty hard to ignore it.  Trump-supporters are emerging from the shadows in large numbers, even in places you might not expect.

One might not be incredibly surprised to hear about masses of Trump-supporters rallying and taking part in patriotic parades in red states like Texas and even swing states like Florida, but eyebrows tend to rise when they begin happening in the capital city of the most important political stronghold of the Democratic Party.

Back in May, I and my family attended the Liberty Fest rally held in Sacramento.  Not being a person who's attended many such rallies, it struck me as an awesome spectacle.  The Sacramento Bee reported that a "massive throng gathered along 10th Street, facing the west steps of the Capitol, with hundreds arriving hours before the official noon start."  We were among them, and upon arrival, I captured a short video of the waiting crowd as "America the Beautiful," performed by Ray Charles, played over the loudspeaker.

That event wasn't really about Trump; it was about opposition to the California COVID lockdown.  But as you can see in the video, President Trump was prominently presented by many who were there as the yin to Gavin Newsom's dictatorial yang. 

Shortly after that event, cities erupted across America in orgies of violence, thievery, arson, and mayhem to protest racial injustice, even though the circumstances of George Floyd's arrest and death, the event that ostensibly launched the riots, provide no convincing link whatsoever to racism in policing.  Most of this energy was spearheaded by Black Lives Matter, an admittedly Marxist organization with openly violent adherents, and was nurtured with winks and approving nods by Democratic politicians.

After all of this had occurred throughout the summer, it was less of a surprise to see a massive pro-Trump rally and boat parade in Sacramento on Labor Day.  Trump was no longer just the opposite of Newsom when it came to COVID lockdowns; it had become clear that he is the only opposing force against much broader attacks on American liberty.  The Democratic Party, Hollywood, professional sports, and corporate leviathans had all hitched their wagons to Black Lives Matter's star, where "fiery but mostly peaceful" protesting is the manifestation of an orchestrated effort to undermine and destroy the traditional institutions and values of America, such as freedom of speech, property rights, and the rule of law. 

These principles are the foundation of a civilized society, and without them, most Americans know, anarchy and tyranny commence. 

Knowing what's at stake, Trump-supporters across the country seem to have finally had enough of being shamed into the shadows.  Even in my little Northern California community (which largely comprises Bay Area expats), I can say I saw very little open support for Trump in 2016, and much more for Hillary Clinton.  This year, we are seeing very little signage for Joe Biden and countless signs supporting Trump.  Last week, I visited my local grocery store, and I even saw that some community members had a table outside selling Trump flags and shirts, engaging with passersby about why Trump is the obvious choice in November.  I honestly never thought I would see that.

Certainly, not everyone is happy about the trend.  One neighbor in our community proudly posted his Trump sign to the fence on his property, only to have it defaced with BLM propaganda.  In a particularly clever response, he chose to use that act of vandalism to accentuate his reason for supporting President Trump for re-election, and to appropriately frame the nature of America's choice in November:

This is perhaps the starkest visual contrast of the choices available to Americans in November that I've yet seen.  President Trump is proudly standing on the ramparts to defend free speech, private property rights, and the rule of law, all of which are prerequisites for a civilized society, as his sign suggests.  Joe Biden, on the other hand, offers tacit support for the revolutionaries who aim to abolish those principles, here represented by the BLM vandals (undoubtedly Biden-supporters) who violated the law in order to suppress our neighbor's free expression by defacing his property.

Ironically, this act of vandalism, meant to deter voters from supporting Donald Trump, allowed this homeowner turn an ordinary campaign sign into a powerful visual argument as to why Trump must be re-elected in November.  Only the most rabid of left-wing zealots could drive by this display without clearly recognizing that.