Democracy is Breaking Through as a Political Issue

Tomorrow's protests will put authoritarianism on center stage

Photo by Fred Moon on Unsplash

Four months ago, in the wake of the first No Kings protests, I wrote about the importance of having millions of our neighbors say no to Donald Trump’s authoritarian project with simplicity, joy, and exuberance:

I attended the [No Kings] protest in West Chester, PA, where energetic and purposeful crowds filled the four street corners in front of the old Chester County courthouse. The protest was powerful for its simplicity. People waved flags, carried home-made placards, and cheered exuberantly every time passing drivers honked their horns in support.

Demonstrations like this have been taking place for ages. In that regard it wasn’t extraordinary. But at a time when our liberties are under assault, it should not be taken for granted that thousands could peacefully assemble to express their views.

It was extraordinary that scenes like the one in front of the courthouse were materializing in hundreds of locations at the same time. If success can be measured in the size of the turnout—and certainly Donald Trump would measure it that way—then Saturday’s events were astounding.

Tomorrow’s second No Kings day has the potential to be even larger, and it comes at a time when the stakes are higher.

Since June, we have seen Trump use the military more assertively in American cities and elevate his threatening rhetoric about peaceful protesters.

We have also seen more people turn on the administration, which means there is a larger pool of possible protesters than last time. This has the potential to make turnout for tomorrow’s events even larger than the massive response we saw four months ago.

Perhaps most importantly, there is a growing awareness of the need to protect democracy. More people are saying democracy is under threat and the state of democracy is now one of the most important issues of our day.

In light of this, I thought I would repost an article that originally appeared on June 18, days after the first No Kings event. At the time, I felt it was important to address the salience of protecting democracy at events like the No Kings demonstrations. If anything, the considerations of June are even more pronounced today.

The article follows below the fold. And you can find a No Kings rally near you by clicking here.

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