In the Changing Earth Audio Drama, the rebel fighters unfold a plan to use Erika’s story as the “Lone Survivor of Sacramento” to rally the country away from the tyrannical system instated to control the chaos after the Great Quake shook the earth nine years ago. The resistance is fractured as they develop the game plan while the federal forces unite with powerful tyrants and grow stronger.

The question remains, will the peaceful protest work?

MentalFloss.com wrote an article determining the success of past peaceful protests. Some peaceful protests in the past have failed miserably. In 1838 the Cherokee Indian Resistance peacefully protested their removal from their native lands by remaining there. The US army retaliated and forced them to walk to a new home. This walk became known as The Trail of Tears. The protest was an utter failure.

Along the same lines was the 1989 protest by the Chinese in Tiananmen Square. The people staged a peaceful protest asking for a free press and political reform. This protest left anywhere from 200-10,000 people dead. Tiananmen Square and the Trail of Tears are well-known protests, but some other significant peaceful demonstrations failed. The White Rose Resistance protested to undermine Nazi rule. The rebels were beheaded. Also, many countries protested in 2003 to stop the US invasion of Iraq, but their efforts were unsuccessful.

Other peaceful protests had an immediate effect. The Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955-1956 involved people of color refusing to take public transportation because of segregation. In response, Alabama declared racial segregation unlawful. In 1978 the Tree Sitters of Pureora in New Zealand involved people building tree houses and refusing to leave to protest deforestation. They were successful at changing the forestry management practices. The Lust Lady Strike of San Francisco in 1997 involved strippers encouraging their patrons to avoid the club until they were allowed to form a union. They were also successful.

James Walton, the director of Prepper Broadcasting Network, discussed his role in a peaceful protest in Virginia in 2020 to protest new gun laws. The crowd sang patriotic songs and peacefully rallied, achieving acceptable reforms to the new regulations. Singing can have a powerful impact on peaceful protests. In 1986-1991 nationals of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania would peacefully protest Soviet rule by singing national songs. The peaceful demonstrations became known as the Singing Revolution, and all three countries gained sovereignty.

Other peaceful protests did not have an immediate impact but were pivotal in encouraging long-term change. The most well know is Gandhi’s Salt March in 1930. Gandhi’s marched across India to protest British rule, and although it was not immediately effective, its impact did lead to an independent India. The Kent State Demonstrationin 1970 inspired others to begin protesting the Vietnam war and altered the general opinion of the war, leading to political decisions that ended the war.

It seems that there is no guarantee that a peaceful protest will succeed in both the audio drama and in life. However, in the United States of America, all registered voters can peacefully give their opinion. Make sure your voice is heard!

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