The extremes of fear and hope unveiled themselves in Denver today on the eve of the Democratic National Convention.

Passing through downtown Denver this evening, I saw on foot patrol squads of dark-clad police in riot gear. Wearing brand new dark blue uniforms, the squads walked in tight groups of six. From their gun belts hung bundles of plastic handcuffs beside their visored helmets. From their hands extended long black clubs, perhaps three feet in length, swinging at their sides as they walked.

Parked on a side street sat an oversized SUV with wide black running boards in each side. More police officers in riot gear stood on these running board. They looked ready for action. The eyes scanned the passing cars.

Later I heard on the radio news that sections of downtown were shut down twice today after discoveries of “suspicious packages.”  The items turned out to be harmless, but the news reports felt chilling.

As we passed the strong police presence around the Denver Convention Center, where many of the ancillary DNC events will be held, I realized that my quiet home town now looks like the police state scenes in the most terrifying cyberpunk videos.

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