Reject the Man Who Would Be King — But Don't Take His Bait.

Image by Wynn Pointaux from Pixabay

I’m writing this on the eve of what is certain to be a historic day. It may well signal a tipping point in America. In which direction it will tip us — toward a resurgence of the principles this country was built on, or headlong into fascism — remains to be seen.

But here’s what I know: none of us is exempt from what is coming. Or, indeed, what is here before us, right now, the day before No Kings Day.

And none of us can afford to sit back. At the same time, none of us can afford to let our emotions tip us into anything but peaceful, lawful protest.

That won’t be easy. The current regime has no intention of making it easy, despite our Constitutional right — and I would argue, duty — to assemble peacefully in public and make our voices heard.

But we must do it, all of us who are capable. And we must do it correctly.

There can no longer be any doubt, any illusion that things are still normal if a little wonky. We are not witnessing a typical political pendulum swing from left to right.

We are witnessing a wrecking ball heading toward the Constitution, the rule of law, and our previously guaranteed rights and freedoms as Americans.

Yesterday afternoon, we saw a U.S. Senator, Alex Padilla, hustled out of Kristi Noem’s press conference, forced to the ground, and handcuffed.

A sitting senator, a ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety, Padilla can be clearly heard on videos identifying himself as he attempts to ask Noem a question.

Noem ignores him. Her Secret Service thugs manhandle the Senator, apparently at her behest. Later, she blatantly lies, claiming to reporters that Padilla didn’t identify himself and that he “lunged” at her.

Even worse: Senator Padilla’s attempted question followed Noem’s remark about the National Guard and Marines deployed to Los Angeles over the objections of the city’s mayor and the governor of California:

“We are not going away,” she warned. “We are staying here to liberate the city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country and what they have tried to insert into the city.”

I won’t waste your time with a further litany of the recent outrages against civil rights — if you’re reading this, you’re perfectly able to access the same videos and reportage that I am.

And you and I may disagree on many things, but unless you have aligned yourself with the current regime’s intent to override every Constitutional principle that serves as our nation’s framework, we can agree that what this administration is doing is a direct threat to each and every one of us.

Yes, the regime is going after the most vulnerable, the least powerful, among us first. Not because the regime actually believes its own propaganda that such people are a threat — but because it’s how they hope to cow the rest of us into submission.

And here’s something we can count on, based on everything we’ve ever seen from any authoritarian rule everywhere: it won’t stop there.

The only thing that can save us is, simply, us. All of us taking action to whatever extent we can to make it known that we are not subjects of any ruler. We are citizens of a republic.

We only accept a President who is what he swore an oath to be: a Constitutional officer, obligated to uphold the rule of law, including the laws he finds inconvenient.

We do not accept a king.

Again: we must make our voices heard. But we have to do it the right way.

Bravely, because we’re kidding ourselves if we think there’s no risk involved. With resolve, because the truth is our freedom is at risk whether we act or not.

And most importantly, peacefully.

My family members and I will be at tomorrow’s march at our red-state capital. We will dress in patriotic colors, carry signs, and wave Old Glory — because it’s Flag Day, a far more important occasion than #47’s birthday or his ludicrous, wasteful military parade, and it’s high time to take our national symbols back from those who are hell-bent on perverting what they stand for.

We will be loud. We will be unapologetic for our outrage. But no matter what, we will be peaceful.

If there are counter-protesters, we will not engage. If we witness unlawful intimidation or arrests, we will record the action if we can, but we will not indulge in physical confrontation.

Hurling insults at law enforcement, even ICE, or throwing anything at them, only gives the fascists the excuse they hunger for. Trespassing on or destroying property only throws gasoline on the flames they’re so desperate to stoke.

We will not do that tomorrow, and we won’t do it as this critical summer unfolds. But we will not be silent.

You may be marching tomorrow as well: if so, I salute you and I also plead with you to reject all provocation to be anything but peaceful.

If you can’t or won’t march, I urge you to take what actions you can: calling your congressional representatives with your concerns, writing letters, even having honest conversations with friends and family.

It all adds up. And we owe it to everyone who has sacrificed their lives and their freedom so we could have ours. I take action in honor of my long-departed father-in-law, who charged up a beach towards Nazi guns on Day 4 of the Normandy invasion.

You have someone like that in your past, or in your present. This is the time when we must not let them down.

Be safe. Be strong. But however you can, be there.