At about 1:30 on Saturday afternoon — with a pro-Palestinian rally on the White House ellipse ending and a crowd of several thousand protesters, mostly Arab-Americans, preparing to march down Pennsylvanian Avenue — a middle-aged white woman exclaimed, “I like that!” and pointed excitedly at a sign bobbing above the crowd. It was a drawing of the American flag, but without the usual 50 stars. In their place was a single blue Star of David; the bottom of the sign read simply, “Free America.”

“Free America from the Jews,” the woman said contentedly. “Yeah.”

[…A]s I left the Mall around 4:30 p.m., I found myself thinking back to a poster I had seen on the ground in the middle of the pro-Palestinian rally earlier in the day. On one side was written: “Save America, Change U.S. Foreign Policy.” And on the other side was written: “Bethlehem After 2000 Yrs. Same Killers.” Two apparently different sentiments. Same sign.

Back over thirty years ago. Vietnam Moratorium Day, 1969. Earth Day, 1970. I was eleven. We may not have known everything. We may not have grasped every nuance. (Humans rarely do.) But we weren’t…this.

I find myself thinking of an Oyster Band lyric:

In the middle of a good time
Truth gave me her icy kiss
Look around, you must be joking
All that way, all that way for this