After nearly 35 years on this earth, with I’d say about 20 of them politically cognizant and active, I attended my first protest this past Saturday, one of the many No Kings protest.
While I’ve covered two Black Lives Matter protests when I was a journalist, I’ve never previously attended a protest as an actual participant. I’ve always been more of a writer than someone who will take to the streets. My predilection was to use my words than my actual voice. That’s partly the shy side of me that doesn’t like to draw attention to myself, which is the aim of a protest, and partly the introverted side of me that finds more comfort behind the keyboard than in a mass of people.
What changed? In our present moment in the United States, I felt it was no longer enough to remain behind the keyboard. It was not enough to use words only. I needed to take one of the most American actions there is: protesting the government.
What does “No Kings” mean exactly? I’m not going to do a whole litany of Trump’s transgressions and abuses of power, his office, and the Constitution here, but these two items will suffice. First, is Trump embracing the idea of being a king. Refer to this Tweet from February of this year from the official White House account. The usual defense of Trump is that he’s jesting or trolling. No. Even if I accepted that framing, I don’t want the most powerful human on the planet in our democracy joking about being a king. Second, Trump has repeatedly flirted with the idea of running for an unconstitutional third term and/or being a dictator. See here and here. Again, with the latter, they use the argument that he’s jesting or joking. But no. That doesn’t work for me. I prefer to take the most powerful human on the planet seriously. Stay ready rather than get ready.
Do I endorse everything No Kings stands for? As I’ve stated before on my blog, whatever policy differences I may have with others who attended the No Kings protest, none of it matters until we figure out the Trump and MAGA issue. Which is to say, until we address a person (now president) and a movement (one of the two major political parties) that are diametrically opposed to, and certainly hostile to, the Constitution, the rule of law, and the American system of government, the usual policy disagreements are a distant concern. I was more than happy to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with everyone at the protest because we were there in opposition to Trump. That is what unified us. And it’s not merely a negative orientation, but also a positive one: We were also unified for decency returning to America.
Speaking of decency, additionally, I attended the No Kings protest as a delineation in the sand that I’m not okay with where the country is right now as it concerns the actions of the federal government led by Trump and his party and supporters in the treatment of noncitizens, American citizens, and American officials from the opposing party. Enough with these draconian measures. Those who still believe in decency and humanity must stand up and state, “Enough.” When the federal government is wielding the power of the state through federal law enforcement and the United States military against citizens of the country — to the point of threatening to “liberate” Democratic cities like Los Angeles — those who still believe in the constitutional order and human dignity have to put that delineation in the sand and say, “No. Not in my name.” One protest is not enough. Nor two or three or more. But it is a start. It is something. Acquiescence is not an option. Bending the knee is not an option. Silence and inaction represent unacceptable statements in and of themselves.
And I must say, too, that it felt good to be in a group of people with a jovial and optimistic spirit, proud to be Americans reclaiming symbols of our democracy, such as the flag, and yes, angry as hell, too, that we are even dealing with this situation. It made me feel less alone, less aloof in a surreal sea. To keep that metaphor going, we’re only going to right the ship and calm the seas together. Nobody can do it alone. We certainly can’t wait for the right politician to come along and galvanize the nation away from Trump and MAGA. The people must get it done and will get it done.
I debated on what to put on my sign (side note: I made the most obvious purchase at Dollar General when I bought two poster boards, markers, and two small American flags; no regrets or shame). I looked for quotes from the Founding Fathers or something speaking to the “no kings” aspect. There was one great quote from Thomas Paine, “But where, say some, is the King of America? … that so far as we approve of monarchy, that in America the law is king. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other.” I couldn’t wrangle that one into a pithy sign. Instead, I went with a quote that is falsely attributed to Paine, incidentally, “Patriots protect their country from the government.” I’m not sure there is a direct figure responsible for such a quote. But it’s apiece with the idea of taking back symbols of America, such as it being patriotic to oppose Trump and his actions.
Again I’m not trying to do an entire refutation of the other side’s arguments here, but I’ll add an observation to consider. There exists a disconnect between people’s stated policy preferences and the reality of how those policy preferences are executed by those in power. In other words, people who support policy preference B maintain support of policy preference B even when the execution may differ from what they actually support because they are unaware of what it looks like in reality. To be certain, there are a vocal number of people who are aligned on the preference and the execution; if anything, they’d prefer the policy be more draconian or exerted with more power. But ever the optimist, I like to think that’s not the majority of those supporting the policy preference. Apply this to any current example. Obviously, the most salient right now is immigration. I imagine the policy preference stated and the reality of the execution, including the trade-offs involved, would differ considerably in support. Unfortunately, polls don’t tend to ask specifically about the trade-offs to truly elucidate the chasm between preference and reality. Nonetheless, there is evidence that the country, as they saw Trump’s handling of immigration in Los Angeles, for example, began souring on what was previously his strongest issue.
The final thing I would say is, if you haven’t protested before and are unsure, your best bet is go with a group of people you’re comfortable with. Like anything else, it helps to be with such people.
Milam's Musings 