It's Your Time to Protest "No KINGS" June 14
You have a choice: To protest on Saturday, June 14, or not.
June 14th, No Kings Day, will be the military “celebration” happening in Washington D.C., supposedly to honor the Army’s 250th anniversary, which is also on Trump’s birthday. No coincidence. It’s also “No Kings” protest day - and we must carry this message far and wide to participate in the protests.
The big question is, “What will you do?” If you have the will, you have the power to protest as part of the “No Kings” movement.
This watershed moment could set in motion the forces needed to stop the last steps of an authoritarian takeover of our country. It’s not hyperbole anymore - it’s boots-on-the-ground reality.
Choosing to protest is not just an act of symbolic resistance. It is a message aimed directly at the people you love, your parents and children, your spouses and significant others. It tells them a powerful message about your determination and character.
Our intuition and reason must be our guide as to our choice to participate. By not protesting, by being silent, we become complicit in the authoritarian abuses of Trump, condoning his use of the military to label those participating as “insurrectionists.”
The reasoning is that simple.
Common Sense
We’ve been here before. Before the Revolutionary War, Thomas Paine wrote “Common Sense: The Origin and Design of Government.”
In it, he observed that our ties to Britain and King George III meant nothing. The Americas of the time demanded better government. The complexities and desperate need for fair federal administration, judicial rule of law, and self-determination of the governed outstripped the responsiveness that the unresponsive, single-minded English Royal government could provide.
At the end of his pamphlet, he wrote this:
However, it matters very little now what the King of England either says or does; he hath wickedly broken through every moral and human obligation, trampled nature and conscience beneath his feet; and by a steady and constitutional spirit of insolence and cruelty, procured for himself a universal hatred.
Simply put, people in the Colonies were fed up with him.
The Declaration of Independence
It is uncanny how much I can see happening that loosely, but significantly, parallels the grievances leading up to our revolution against Britain.
Here is a map of all the protests – you may RSVP if you choose to participate on Saturday by clicking this link:
FYI (“Assent” means “to agree or approve” below. )
Jefferson wrote about the King in the Declaration of Independence, referring to King George III at the time, and unnervingly parallel to wrongs that Trump has done, and sees no issue with:
“He has refused to assent to laws,” needed for the public good, Trump has refused to stand ground and protect the interests of the working class in his OBBBA bill, burdening working class families so the top 1% can keep their precious tax breaks. At the same time, we go trillions of dollars farther into debt.
“He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable…for the sole purpose of fatiguing (making tired) them into compliance” with his desires. Trump and Mike Johnson passed the OBBBA through, with bill amendments added last-second, to give Trump near-king-like powers, voted on in the middle of the night, without time for Representatives to properly read the newly proposed laws.
“He has obstructed the Administration of Justice…” Trump, in deporting immigrants without due process and vilifying the judges who have presided over cases, endangering their lives, and without evidence, saying their actions are conspiratorial.
“He has … sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our People…” Trump has deployed the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, against the Governor’s wishes, creating drama, danger, and fear among citizens. Using figures like Tom Homan, he’s made a brownshirt approach to law enforcement, terrorizing residents without relief, promising to do so all over the country.
The comparisons could continue, but I invite you to read it: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript.
The Lessons Young People Can Learn
Growing up is extraordinarily difficult today. Children look to their parents, friends, and teachers to understand the context of what is happening.
By participating in these protests, you have the chance to teach children:
Standing up for what one believes is important.
Freedom, and our fundamental rights as people who live here, like due process, matter personally to you.
You do not support laws or actions that treat our President as an all-powerful King
You have the right to protest (First Amendment to the Constitution) and use it.
You also have a right to free speech (The First Amendment to the Constitution).
You support the rights of people to Due Process afforded by the Fifth and Fourteenth amendments.
You show them that people who do bad things can be held accountable through the force of peaceful means in large numbers, not violence.
… and many more.
Important Clips for Today
Bernie Sanders laid out a very factual perspective in this short clip from his video (1 minute):
BERNIE SANDERS -
President Trump told us what the Military “Birthday” parade is all about in his own words, using no facts to back up anything – this big, expensive parade is on his birthday for a reason. “No protests will be tolerated” is the message a King gives to his subjects. ∫
President Trump also told the world, in his own words, that protests demonstrating free speech will instead be treated as “insurrectionists,” which is a lie: Protestors are not insurrectionists, and as long as we are peaceful, we are not the ones who have broken laws. There is also no evidence that the residents of Los Angeles are “paid insurrectionists” protesting the ICE raids:
That’s a wrap.
Today’s message is so simple and focused, I hope you still find some value in having a single message for the Daily article. Please participate in protests – they are all over the country. Don’t give in to fear or habit. I encourage you to add your voice to the millions expected to attend on Saturday.
Be Well.
Rick Herbst
June 11, 2025
I'll be protesting in Kansas City 💖