It’s important that we remain vigilant — and important that we not let violence or intimidation keep us from the duty we owe ourselves, each other, and our country.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
by Peter Montgomery
OtherWords
What a hopeful sight! My social media on June 14 and 15 was filled with people sharing pictures from “No Kings” gatherings.
Aerial photos of massive crowds in big cities. Snapshots of surprisingly large turnouts in small conservative communities. Sidewalk gatherings by residents of an assisted living center.
Millions of Americans signed up, made funny and serious signs, and came together around a basic principle: No Kings.
No Kings means no one-person rule. Our president must abide by the Constitution, follow the law, and respect the other branches of government.
No Kings means no government by edict or tweet. No president can unilaterally rewrite the law, take away due process, and impose his will on the rest of us.
No Kings means no king. Other government officials, including those who serve in our armed forces, do not swear loyalty to a ruler but to the Constitution.
These aren’t radical ideas. They are foundational American ideals. They are being severely tested right now. But research from around the world shows that autocracies do not survive sustained nonviolent resistance.
The rallies came after a week in which the president mobilized the military against American protesters in Los Angeles. Americans declared “No Kings” on the same weekend as a military parade demanded by the president and held on his birthday rumbled through our capital city.
The parade was resisted by military leaders during the president’s first term. It came after a political purge of generals and military lawyers who might say no. And it came after the president made intensely partisan speeches at West Point and Fort Bragg that suggested he views the American military as an arm of his political movement. That’s scary.
If the president hoped the military parade would provide some kind of boost to his strongman self-image, he was sorely disappointed. Despite the millions of dollars wasted shipping tanks and troops to Washington, D.C., the crowd fell far short of expectations. It was a stark contrast with the energized turnout for No Kings.
That energy must be sustained.
Corruption and abuse of power continue to threaten American families and communities as politicians vote to cut people’s access to food, education, and healthcare so they can give tax breaks to influential billionaires.
OtherWords
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
The president is surrounded by people urging him to ignore our checks and balances. His worst impulses are being enabled by too many members of Congress who fear his wrath more than they respect the Constitution and their oath to uphold it. The president’s habit of demeaning and dehumanizing his opponents and political targets makes violence more likely. So did his decision to pardon people who attacked Capitol Police on January 6. The danger posed by our poisoned political climate became horrifyingly clear with the assassination and attempted assassination of Democratic leaders in Minnesota by a gunman with a list of pro-choice politicians, Planned Parenthood locations, and a flyer for local No Kings events. A rally goer in Utah was killed accidentally when a security guard opened fire to stop a man moving toward the crowd with a rifle. That same day, police arrested a man with a concealed handgun and two full ammunition magazines as he tried to get past security at a Pride event in Florida. It’s important that we remain vigilant — and important that we not let violence or intimidation keep us from the duty we owe ourselves, each other, and our country. If we want to keep “No Kings” a reality as well as a rallying cry, that will require ongoing commitment and action from “We, the people.”
Peter Montgomery is a Senior Fellow at People for the American Way. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.
