LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Last Thursday’s “Good Trouble Lives On” rally on July 17 was billed as a solemn tribute to the late Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis. But what was supposed to be a positive memorial rally quickly unraveled into just another anti-Trump sideshow – complete with tie-dye, assorted signs, and a curious lack of understanding about what a civil right even is.

The events, held nationwide including in Michigan, marked five years since Lewis passed away. A legendary figure in the civil rights movement, Lewis was known for leading the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, helping organize the 1963 March on Washington, and enduring a brutal beating on the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the 1965 Selma march – later dubbed “Bloody Sunday.” He spent over three decades in Congress advocating for equality through nonviolence.

Rage against the orange machine.

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Organizers of the rally, the same activists who organized the “No Kings” protest, claimed it was a peaceful day of action honoring Lewis’ legacy and resisting injustice. But the real injustice might have been the intellectual bankruptcy on display.

Despite a mission statement focused on “civil and human rights,” the event’s messaging – and most of its attendees – revolved around one theme: Trump-bashing. Signs read “Dump Trump,” “POTUS is a POS,” and the ever-relevant “Release the Files” (yes, the Epstein ones).

The rally was largely attended by gray-haired white activists of the Woodstock era as were the recent No Kings protests.

Civil rights? What are civil rights?

Aldo Buttazzoni with the Michigan Enjoyer captured the real punchline: when asked what a civil right actually is, the self-proclaimed defenders of democracy froze like deer in headlights. And the rally- goers really should have known the answer to the question, most of them having been on the earth six decades or more.

“That’s a good question,” chuckled one white female Boomer. “I haven’t really thought of it…”

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Another white male Boomer answered, “Well… I don’t know if I can do that off the top of my head. There’s a whole body of law about what are civil rights…”

And a third white female Boomer valiantly tried: “The right to be treated with dignity… um…”

So much for speaking truth to power. These seasoned protesters might have marched in the ’60s, but somewhere between Woodstock and the Wi-Fi password, they forgot the basics.

What is a civil right? A primer:

According to Merriam-Webster, civil rights are “rights that citizens are guaranteed by their government through legislation or other government action to ensure equal opportunities (as for employment, education, housing, or voting) and equal protection under the law regardless of personal characteristics such as race, religion, or sex.”

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Civil Rights Division, created in 1957, enforces these rights – federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, familial status, military status and national origin.

A legacy hijacked.

To most, John Lewis stood for courage, clarity, and conviction – but Thursday’s rally looked more like a support group for cranky retirees irritated by Trump’s every move. In trying to honor Lewis’s legacy, these aging activists only highlighted how empty and unfocused their complaints and slogans have become.

If “good trouble” means yelling about Trump while forgetting the definition of a civil right, then maybe it’s time for a refresher course – in both history and civics.