Friends and Colleagues from Around the World,
Today, I’ll roll out the plans for our next trip to Guatemala. The No Kings events will be the focus of Culture Watch. Then, it’s ‘What We’re Reading and Why,’ a new Scanning Project segment, ‘What Others Are Saying,’ plus an updated Calendar.
We’re going to Guatemala with our 20-year-old granddaughter, Ali, as part of our master plan to introduce our grandkids to other languages and cultures, as well as the birthplace of their parents and grandmother. On our last trip, I heard complaints that we were seeing too many things and moving around too much. In the spirit of making our granddaughter’s tours as successful as possible, we’ll focus our time in Guatemala City, the many Mayan villages around Lake Atitlán, the Mayan ruins of Tikal, and the iconic colonial capital of Antigua. The itinerary will include a journey to Chocolá to visit the staff and programs of SEEDS for a Future as I’m a board member. For those who haven’t heard the story of the first granddaughter’s visit, here’s the link: Literary YardTraveling Through Guatemala with Granddaughters
No Kings rallies were held in all 50 states—estimated to have attracted over 5 million participants, with 200,000 in LA, 100,000 in Philadelphia, and 70,000 in Seattle. Despite the sweltering, triple-digit temps, some 40 rallies were organized by volunteers in the Phoenix area. My middle daughter helped organize a special family-based No Kings event in Phoenix, which included our grandkids (training the next generation) among the 120 participants. Most of the participants were actively involved with community-based and international charitable groups, although I met several veterans. We received 600 honks/waves, joined us in protesting authoritarianism, the disappearance of people off the street, deporting Americans, attacking civil rights, slashing our services & sending the Marines to our cities!
But even though the No Kings rallies dwarfed the level of participation in what many considered a “boring” military/Trump birthday celebration, Trump’s approval rating is still at 45%. White Evangelical Protestants continue to be among Trump’s strongest supporters. According to the Pew Center, seven out of ten Evangelicals rate the ethics of the Trump administration as “excellent to good.”
What’s next? What’s the next part of the resistance process? It’s getting the word out through the effective use of social media and groups we’re affiliated with. Each of us has our platform, audience, and set of friends and family we need to influence. And I’m sure there will be more resistance rallies to come as the Marines head for Los Angeles and various masked, armed entities like ICE are snatching students and sometimes citizens off the street and disappearing them to far-off places. For the entire story, go to my Substack: Home | Substack
What We’re Reading and Why
I met the author at a conference of Arizona Professional Writers, and over lunch, we recognized our common interest in immigration politics—my focus was on Guatemala, and hers was on Arizona. Although her book is fiction, it’s based on the events surrounding “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” who served as Sheriff of Maricopa County from 1993 to 2016. I met Sheriff Arpaio at a wedding where I was the best man, and he seemed like a jovial, personable guy. He gained national attention on a segment on 60 Minutes, which highlighted Tent City, Pink Underwear, and illegal immigration sweeps and traffic stops targeting Latinos. But behind this amiable façade was a darker reality, which Marshall unravels in her book.
The book offers a compelling examination of Arizona’s immigration politics, viewed through the lens of civil liberties and constitutional rights while exploring the dynamics between institutional power and individual rights. It uses Arizona’s immigration enforcement policies to understand how democratic institutions can be weaponized against vulnerable populations.
The author’s story explores the consequences of Arizona’s controversial immigration laws, examining how political opportunism intersects with public concerns about border security. Marshall’s focus remains steadfast on the constitutional implications of these policies, particularly their impact on Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures, as well as Fourteenth Amendment guarantees of equal protection under the law.
For the entire review, go to: A Dry Hate: Power Versus The People by Nancy Hicks Marshall, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker June 2025 – Million Mile Walker.
The Scanning Project
Sharing images from Peace Corps and overseas development work to highlight the people we saw and worked with for a better world.” Carrying A Heavy Load” is the focus of this month’s photos—most are from the early 1970s in the highlands of Guatemala. This one is outside of Almolonga.
What Others Are Saying
The Guatemala Reader: Extraordinary Lives and Amazing Stories was nominated for the Eric Hoffer Award. Eric Hoffer was a philosopher and social Critic. His best-known book is “The True Believer,” whose theme remains resonant today.
The latest review of The Guatemala Reader:
“I found both the stories and the history extremely absorbing. If you have an interest in the accurate history of Guatemala, you appreciate sculptures other than your own, and you wish to understand the politics, including Guatemala’s complicated relationship with the U.S. and our immigration politics, this is an absolutely essential read.” Nancy Hicks Marshall, author of A RATTLER’S TALE and FINDING ZACHARIAH
In my interview with Global Connections TV:
Mark, I just finished watching your interview on soft power. Of course, I agree with both of you. My question and frustration is, what can we do when we see these ridiculous decisions being made and there’s no stopping them? I try not to get depressed, but the closing of the virtual projects in Ethiopia has made me very sad. The human cost is just devastating. Cindy Mosca, author, and fellow Founding Advisory Board Member of Peace Corps Worldwide.
All three proposals to University Presses for The Moritz Thomsen Reader: From Affluence to Living Poor were rejected. The Washington University Press published Living Poor in 1969, and Arizona University’s Special Collection holds extensive materials on Moritz provided by one of their professors, Tom Miller. I had just reviewed one of their books by a Mayan Guatemalan anthropologist, but none of this generated any interest in the book.
Calendar
The Pen America event with the Society of Professional Journalists packed the Poisoned Pen Book Store in Scottsdale. The four journalists/authors shared fascinating and timely stories about the role of journalism in our society today, as well as the challenges and accomplishments they faced in writing and finding a publisher. I met John Washington, a journalist specializing in immigration on the southern border.
- July—Next stop, The Land of the Eternal Spring, Guatemala!
You can find my 85 book reviews and 28 articles, as well as several videos and photos, on my website, which also offers a reduced price for my new book if you read it and pass it along to your local library: http://millionmilewalker.com. “Follow” me on Blue Sky—at (2) @millionmilewalker.bsky.social — Bluesky, Substack- Mark D Walker| Substack – and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/millionmilewalker/ for the latest international affairs and literature. And please share the link to the sign-up page to the Dispatch for any friends you think will enjoy it. Million Mile Walker Newsletter – Million Mile Walker.
And, as always, if you’ve read Different Latitudes: My Life in the Peace Corps and Beyond, My Saddest Pleasures: 50 Years on the Road, the Best Travel Book according to the Peace Corps Writers, and, of course, my most recent book, The Guatemala Reader, please review and rate them on Amazon and Goodreads.
Shalom!
Mark D. Walker