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CITIZEN VOICE - Make America Great Again. That's Trump's campaign message.
But what makes America great? It's the fact that we're a country of NO KINGS.
America was founded on the Declaration of Independence, a set of grievances against a tyrannical leader, by a group of people who had no voice or participation in the king's decision-making.
This past week, I had the opportunity to participate in a No Kings rally and interview 11 people. No Kings is a movement of people who believe that no person is above the law, including the president of the United States.
This message is something my party used to believe in, before Trump took it over. I'm a Republican who attended this last No Kings protest. I never got on the Trump train. In 2016, I saw his business and relational wreckage and voted for a Democrat president while voting Republican down-ballot. In 2020, I saw the train wreck at the end of his election-lies story. In 2024, I anticipated the dread and chaos most Americans are now feeling. My voting shifted towards those who embrace American freedom and honest elections and against those who embrace tyranny and deception.
So, ever since the No Kings events began, I've wanted to go, show support, and conduct a series of interviews to capture the protestors' sentiment and message and help spread and amplify the No Kings story. This past week, I was able to make this happen at No Kings 3. My daughter, on her own accord, made a sign and asked if I'd be going. We went together. Here's her sign.
Our constitutional order is being challenged and defied by my party, which used to espouse a commitment to the constitutional system. It's not about Republicans and Democrats. It's about an autocratic group and a pro-democracy group. We need two healthy pro-democracy parties, and we don't have two. We have one. And the one we have is struggling in its own ways. My party, Republicans, has become a toxic and authoritarian aspiring party, and that means I have a responsibility (as part of that group) to do something about it.
My personal blind spot is that I assumed my party and America would course correct. I believed things would go back to normal on their own. But new and different forces entered the societal arena, and that requires new and different forces (No Kings) to intervene.This protest participation is one more step in taking responsibility for our future, despite the vitriol I get from those in my own party, who don't want to be held accountable. May these No Kings interviews be a spark of inspiration to step into the voice in any particular way you can.
(Jason Montoya is a freelancer, blogger, podcaster, and author (Path of the Freelancer: An Actionable Guide to Flourishing in Freelancing and The Jump: From Chaos to Clarity for Your Striving Small Business). He shares his good and not-so-good stories from his journey to process ideas and inspire others.)
