5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Members of the clergy and other protesters place flowers at the feet of a California National Guardsman stationed outside federal buildings near the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles on June 10, 2025, amid ongoing protests in response to federal immigration operations.
(Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP via Getty Images)
As The Military Occupies Your Town, Give Them Flowers and a Note
The demonstrators of the 1960s understood that the soldiers faced off against him were not the enemy. Neither are the National Guard members patrolling your city on Trump's illegal orders.
Oct 01, 2025
During some of the large anti-war demonstrations during the 1960s, some of the protesters gave flowers to the troops faced off against them. In the 1967 March on the Pentagon it was the 503rd Military Police Battalion, and elsewhere the National Guard was deployed. An iconic photo from 1967 shows a young man placing a flower into a soldier's gun barrel during the protest. Let's bring that custom back when the US military occupies your town in 2025, but this time let's include a note along with the flower.
Allow me to explain.
The demonstrators of the 1960s understood that the soldiers faced off against him were not the enemy. Nearly all of the soldiers were young and patriotic and trying to do the right thing. Many of them were under economic hardship and wanted help paying for their education. The flower symbolized the protesters' belief that the soldiers were not their enemies, and they did not wish to be theirs. And in fact, as the almost entirely peaceful protests grew, many soldiers came to sympathize and began to actively oppose the war as well.
Now we have federalized Guard troops being called out by US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and Portland with other cities soon to follow. Chicago is likely next. The authority for this is said to be Title 10 of the US Code which says that the president may federalize the National Guard if the US "is invaded or is in danger of invasion by a foreign nation; there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion... or the president is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States."
The president's rhetoric seems aimed at inflaming and dividing. The "enemy from within," "full force," "thugs," "vermin," and much more.
Legitimate grounds for a US military or National Guard deployment do not exist. The claim that crime is spiraling out of control is false, and those pushing for the deployments know it. There is zero credible proof that crime is increasing. According to a recent FBI report (August, 2025) robbery, assault, rape, and murder all continued a decline that began post-Covid-19. We are not being invaded, there is no rebellion, and the laws are being enforced about as well as ever.
A second reason against deploying the military on our streets is that the Posse Comitatus act of 1878 forbids the use of US military forces within the country for active law enforcement except in exceptional circumstances such as insurrection, and explicitly approved by Congress. The military is forbidden from making arrests, conducting searches, issuing warrants, or interfering with local law enforcement. The law also applies to National Guard forces unless approved by state governors. No governors this year have made any requests for federalized National Guard troops.
And it is worth noting that Trump's military forays into cities are only being used in Democrat-run areas. High crime in red state cities is ignored. And the Trump administration refuses to realize the obvious danger of political violence and threats from MAGA and the American right which are much higher than those from the left, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and others. Antifa is officially (and improperly) designated as domestic terrorists while violent right-wing groups get a pass from the administration.
And the president's rhetoric seems aimed at inflaming and dividing. The "enemy from within," "full force," "thugs," "vermin," and much more. And there is hardly a peep of protest from the Republican Party.
So this time around, how about if we give the troops a note along with the flower? You could use wording such as this:
Dear US soldier,
Your service oath included a pledge to uphold the US constitution, and your training taught you to disobey illegal orders.The orders sending you here to (insert name of your city or town) are unlawful and unjust. You have a legal obligation to disobey. We encourage you to go home, and we will support you in that decision.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Arnold Oliver is an emeritus professor of political science at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio. A Vietnam veteran, he belongs to Veterans For Peace, and can be reached at soliver@heidelberg.edu.
national guard
political violence
posse comitatus act
protests
republican party
us constitution
us military
vietnam war
donald trump
During some of the large anti-war demonstrations during the 1960s, some of the protesters gave flowers to the troops faced off against them. In the 1967 March on the Pentagon it was the 503rd Military Police Battalion, and elsewhere the National Guard was deployed. An iconic photo from 1967 shows a young man placing a flower into a soldier's gun barrel during the protest. Let's bring that custom back when the US military occupies your town in 2025, but this time let's include a note along with the flower.
Allow me to explain.
The demonstrators of the 1960s understood that the soldiers faced off against him were not the enemy. Nearly all of the soldiers were young and patriotic and trying to do the right thing. Many of them were under economic hardship and wanted help paying for their education. The flower symbolized the protesters' belief that the soldiers were not their enemies, and they did not wish to be theirs. And in fact, as the almost entirely peaceful protests grew, many soldiers came to sympathize and began to actively oppose the war as well.
Now we have federalized Guard troops being called out by US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and Portland with other cities soon to follow. Chicago is likely next. The authority for this is said to be Title 10 of the US Code which says that the president may federalize the National Guard if the US "is invaded or is in danger of invasion by a foreign nation; there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion... or the president is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States."
The president's rhetoric seems aimed at inflaming and dividing. The "enemy from within," "full force," "thugs," "vermin," and much more.
Legitimate grounds for a US military or National Guard deployment do not exist. The claim that crime is spiraling out of control is false, and those pushing for the deployments know it. There is zero credible proof that crime is increasing. According to a recent FBI report (August, 2025) robbery, assault, rape, and murder all continued a decline that began post-Covid-19. We are not being invaded, there is no rebellion, and the laws are being enforced about as well as ever.
A second reason against deploying the military on our streets is that the Posse Comitatus act of 1878 forbids the use of US military forces within the country for active law enforcement except in exceptional circumstances such as insurrection, and explicitly approved by Congress. The military is forbidden from making arrests, conducting searches, issuing warrants, or interfering with local law enforcement. The law also applies to National Guard forces unless approved by state governors. No governors this year have made any requests for federalized National Guard troops.
And it is worth noting that Trump's military forays into cities are only being used in Democrat-run areas. High crime in red state cities is ignored. And the Trump administration refuses to realize the obvious danger of political violence and threats from MAGA and the American right which are much higher than those from the left, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and others. Antifa is officially (and improperly) designated as domestic terrorists while violent right-wing groups get a pass from the administration.
And the president's rhetoric seems aimed at inflaming and dividing. The "enemy from within," "full force," "thugs," "vermin," and much more. And there is hardly a peep of protest from the Republican Party.
So this time around, how about if we give the troops a note along with the flower? You could use wording such as this:
Dear US soldier,
Your service oath included a pledge to uphold the US constitution, and your training taught you to disobey illegal orders.The orders sending you here to (insert name of your city or town) are unlawful and unjust. You have a legal obligation to disobey. We encourage you to go home, and we will support you in that decision.
Arnold Oliver is an emeritus professor of political science at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio. A Vietnam veteran, he belongs to Veterans For Peace, and can be reached at soliver@heidelberg.edu.
During some of the large anti-war demonstrations during the 1960s, some of the protesters gave flowers to the troops faced off against them. In the 1967 March on the Pentagon it was the 503rd Military Police Battalion, and elsewhere the National Guard was deployed. An iconic photo from 1967 shows a young man placing a flower into a soldier's gun barrel during the protest. Let's bring that custom back when the US military occupies your town in 2025, but this time let's include a note along with the flower.
Allow me to explain.
The demonstrators of the 1960s understood that the soldiers faced off against him were not the enemy. Nearly all of the soldiers were young and patriotic and trying to do the right thing. Many of them were under economic hardship and wanted help paying for their education. The flower symbolized the protesters' belief that the soldiers were not their enemies, and they did not wish to be theirs. And in fact, as the almost entirely peaceful protests grew, many soldiers came to sympathize and began to actively oppose the war as well.
Now we have federalized Guard troops being called out by US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and Portland with other cities soon to follow. Chicago is likely next. The authority for this is said to be Title 10 of the US Code which says that the president may federalize the National Guard if the US "is invaded or is in danger of invasion by a foreign nation; there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion... or the president is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States."
The president's rhetoric seems aimed at inflaming and dividing. The "enemy from within," "full force," "thugs," "vermin," and much more.
Legitimate grounds for a US military or National Guard deployment do not exist. The claim that crime is spiraling out of control is false, and those pushing for the deployments know it. There is zero credible proof that crime is increasing. According to a recent FBI report (August, 2025) robbery, assault, rape, and murder all continued a decline that began post-Covid-19. We are not being invaded, there is no rebellion, and the laws are being enforced about as well as ever.
A second reason against deploying the military on our streets is that the Posse Comitatus act of 1878 forbids the use of US military forces within the country for active law enforcement except in exceptional circumstances such as insurrection, and explicitly approved by Congress. The military is forbidden from making arrests, conducting searches, issuing warrants, or interfering with local law enforcement. The law also applies to National Guard forces unless approved by state governors. No governors this year have made any requests for federalized National Guard troops.
And it is worth noting that Trump's military forays into cities are only being used in Democrat-run areas. High crime in red state cities is ignored. And the Trump administration refuses to realize the obvious danger of political violence and threats from MAGA and the American right which are much higher than those from the left, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and others. Antifa is officially (and improperly) designated as domestic terrorists while violent right-wing groups get a pass from the administration.
And the president's rhetoric seems aimed at inflaming and dividing. The "enemy from within," "full force," "thugs," "vermin," and much more. And there is hardly a peep of protest from the Republican Party.
So this time around, how about if we give the troops a note along with the flower? You could use wording such as this:
Dear US soldier,
Your service oath included a pledge to uphold the US constitution, and your training taught you to disobey illegal orders.The orders sending you here to (insert name of your city or town) are unlawful and unjust. You have a legal obligation to disobey. We encourage you to go home, and we will support you in that decision.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.