One of the saddest things I saw after yesterday’s rally was how many people commented on my previous post without actually reading it. They skimmed a headline, jumped to a conclusion, and then piled on with their pre-made categories: Democrat vs. Republican, liberal vs. MAGA. That’s exactly the kind of thinking NO KINGS is here to break.

NO KINGS isn’t a partisan slogan. It’s not a clever way to score points against the other team. It’s a simple, stubborn declaration: we are not a monarchy. Not now. Not ever.

What NO KINGS means

Say it plainly: the movement isn’t about which party holds power. It’s about refusing to hand our institutions and our country over to a personality or an ideology that demands unquestioning loyalty. It’s about insisting that power be accountable, that leaders be temporary servants, not permanent rulers. The Founders gave us a republic for a reason — because concentrated, unaccountable power breeds corruption, violence, and the erosion of freedom.

Don’t fall for the trap

I saw people say they’d be okay with a king — as long as that king hates the same people they hate. That’s exactly the trap. Choosing a monarch who shares your list of enemies feels satisfying in the moment, but it hands the tools of oppression to someone else. When you cheer a leader because they attack your foes, you tacitly accept that the leader will also be able to turn those tools on anyone who becomes inconvenient.

Fear is a tool

Don’t be afraid. That’s the other play in this game: scare you into submission. They want you terrified of ANTIFA, painted as the boogeyman. So let me ask plainly — who stormed the Capitol on January 6? Was it Antifa? Or was it a mob that believed it was justified by a leader’s lies?

Being anti-fascist is not a crime; it’s an ethic. If opposing authoritarianism and protecting democracy makes you “anti-fascist,” then yes — I’m proud to stand on that side. My grandfather fought fascists in World War II. He didn’t pick sides for sport; he stood against a system that crushed dissent, stamped out rights, and murdered millions. Does that make him the enemy of anyone who defends tyranny today? It shouldn’t.

What we stand for

NO KINGS is for people who believe in democratic norms: the rule of law, free and fair elections, a free press, peaceful transfer of power, and institutions that limit abuse. It’s for those who will not accept threats, intimidation, or lies as the currency of governance. It’s for those who will call out abuses whether they come from the left or the right.

If you showed up at the rally, you probably felt that: a cross-section of Americans fed up with cults of personality and unwilling to trade a fragile freedom for the illusion of tribal safety. If you read the signs and listened to the speeches, you heard families, veterans, students, and workers saying the same thing in different words: No one is above the law. No one gets to remake the country in secret or by force. No leader is owed worship.

Plain asks

• Read before you shout. If you want to oppose a movement, oppose it on its terms.
• Stop pretending democracy is mere partisanship. It’s a fragile contract we renew every day.
• Don’t be fooled into loving a strongman because he roughs up your enemies.
• Be unafraid to be anti-fascist. Opposing tyrannical methods is patriotism.
• Show up, speak up, and insist on accountability from every side.

NO KINGS is a reminder and a covenant: we will not hand our republic to a crown, whether it’s literal or figurative. We will argue. We will protest. We will vote. We will hold leaders to account. Not now. Not ever. No kings.