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Being in the hospital, I missed the “No Kings” protest, but still rooted for my friends who were there.  I was refreshed to see so many people out there who love their country so much that they are willing to stand up and demand that our democracy and Constitution be preserved. I had participated in the others, and I think the movement is growing. The fact that over 2,700 rallies were held across all 50 states was fantastic. The fact that these protests were non-violent was a credit to all who are not intimidated by the threats of violence that are spewed by the conservatives and Republicans. Speaker Johnson tried to brand the protest as “Hate America” protests. What they really were was a celebration honoring our Democracy and our Constitution that Trump and his administration have been trying to trample since he took office. When the White Supremacists marched in Charlotte in 2017, they were trying to intimidate people by carrying torches, and they were chanting “You will not replace us!”, “Jews will not replace us!” and “Russia is our friend!” There was no such intimidation at the “No Kings” protests. It was a day of solidarity for our Republic and our Constitution. They had a very local flavor, with music and bands that promoted dancing rather than threats of violence.  It was a celebration for all who opposed the fascism that has gripped the Republican Party.

The Republicans have been saying the protestors are being paid. Can you imagine the organization that would need to exist to recruit and pay all of the millions of protestors out there? Are there people out there organizing these protests? Sure, there are, just like there were organizations that organized Trump rallies. There were even organizations that helped sponsor the “No Steal” rally on January 6th, 2021, which turned into an attack on our Capitol. Just because there are organizations out there promoting these protests doesn’t mean the people who are protesting are not sincere and concerned for the well-being of our democracy and of our Republic. Why do I protest? For the same reason that I write this blog. I want America to be the land of the free for my grandchildren. I don’t want them to have to live in a country of hate that is being brought on by the Republican Party. I want a country for my grandchildren that is respected around the world, not because of our power but because we respect the law.  What we have now is not respect; what we are instilling is fear. I want them to live in a country where we respect our fairness and moral integrity, which is sorely lacking right now.

We call them “No Kings” protests, but they are much bigger than just that. I like to think the major theme of them was that they supported the rule of law. It is the rule of law that is one of the first things a fascist regime tries to suppress. Just look at the destruction of Venezuelan boats by our military. Are they legal? The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea guarantees freedom of navigation on the high seas. It prohibits the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. It requires distinguishing between combatants and civilians. The boats that have been sunk, we are being told, are allegedly linked to a Venezuelan gang that is designated a terrorist organization by the United States. The problem is that they have not been offered any proof that they are linked to any terrorist organization. We are being told that they are transporting drugs, but have not been offered proof that they were transporting anything that would be considered illegal. At least 61 people have been killed since September 2025, with no proof that they were engaged in any illegal activity. The U.S. jurisdiction over Venezuelan-flagged vessels in International Waters does not apply unless piracy is involved. Drug trafficking does not qualify as piracy under the United Nations. In the eyes of much of the world, we are now a lawless regime.

The rule of law has been talked about a lot throughout our history, and it is the rule of law that is one of the first things that is thrown out by Fascists. One of the first things that is thrown out is “Due Process”. When the Jews were interned in the 1930s and 1940s, do you believe that due process occurred? Do you believe that they had their day in court? There was no “Due Process”. They were loaded into box cars and transported to the concentration camps, though they committed no crime.  It was what history would call a “Police State”. I can’t help but feel that Trump's ICE has used that same blueprint. They are rounding up people and putting them into what I consider concentration camps without “Due Process”. Believe it or not, but I don’t have a problem with deporting people who are here illegally. The United States deported 57 million people between 1920 and 2018. Many of them were voluntary, but many were also ordered by an immigration judge. The one thing that occurred, as far as I could see, was that the “Rule of Law” was in place and that Due Process was observed. In America, it is supposed to be the role of the courts to determine if a person is guilty of a crime, but that is now not being observed. Today, they are being sent directly to the concentration camps just like the Nazis did with the Jews. You can say that they are criminals and that they are breaking the law just by being here. My rebuttal to that is that we are not a country of mob rule. ICE should not be like a lynch mob enacting mob justice. Only the courts can declare whether a person is a criminal. Only the courts can say what the punishment should be. That was the vision of our “Founding Fathers”. Have we strayed at times from that vision? The answer, of course, is yes. But we have always had the strength to resume the proper course.

We are seeing the Trump administration abandon the Rule of Law. The vision of our “Founding Fathers” and the Constitution they left us has no meaning to the Trump administration and much of the Republican Party. The sinking of the Venezuelan boats without “Due Process” is what a fascist regime would do, not a country that believed in the “Rule of Law”. The transporting of what they are calling illegal immigrants to concentration camps without “Due Process” is not an administration that believes in the “Rule of Law”. Our Executive Branch is not supposed to be the judge and jury over the masses. That is up to the courts that the Trump administration is ignoring.

 

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