The community building project is my positive project, and the pretty penny protest is my sole political statement.

In truth, I’m not a political person. I only began this project because I had a dream that 200 million pennies got dumped in the National Mall as a result of Lincoln rolling in his grave, the spirit-force of Honest Abe raining down. I went to the edge of this collection of 200 million pennies and picked one up, the sun now blotted out where I stood by the mound, and I was able to look at one close up in the shade. It had “Dump” written in black sharpie on one side, and on the other side “Trump” was written out.

The strangest part was that everyone walked by the perimeter of this massive pile of pennies as if there were nothing unusual going on, even as small stacks of pennies crunched and skidded under their shoes, I even noticed a few loose ones get stuck in a woman’s sandal as she stopped to take a selfie turned in the other direction. Even as millions of Lincoln eyes glimmered and glowered in the afternoon sunlight, no one seemed to call attention to it, except to steer clear of the stray ones on the edge of the penny pile. Even as a child threw a coin into the pool and it landed eight feet above the surface line, coming to rest atop a shiny bronze hillock radiating in the heat like the shimmer of shallow water, a mirage masked by a spectacle.

I dropped my penny and it landed on a two foot high drift with a muted jingle, and I felt as if only I, the dreamer, could see and hear these millions of pennies. I reached out to grab another one, and without looking at it I flicked it up into the air. I caught it with my right hand and slammed it down on the back of my left hand, and when I went to look if it was heads or tails I saw that it was a nickel. Then I woke up.

I shook it off and had some coffee, but the image stuck with me. Some weeks later, I had a thought: what if the Trump train could be stopped by pennies, and the organized representation of what those pennies mean? 

In reality, only four pennies are needed, the other 199, 999, 996 are for show, for a powerful image, and worth far less than a single well-informed vote.

The ultimate purpose of the pennies is for the benefit of every American, Democrat or Republican or Independent or non-voter, because the purpose of the protest is to draft good legislation. The Republicans had their chance, and they ruined it with the big bad bill, and by not checking the excesses of the Trump administration.

Join the protest. Buy some verified pennies and say why. Demonstrate the possible value of a penny. Influence the political process.