Millions of people are preparing to protest across the United States this Saturday, October 18th. The “No Kings” movement has held more than 2,500 events across the United States, Europe and Canada aimed at challenging President Trump’s actions and reaffirming that democracy belongs to the people, not individuals or power cults.
Organizers are expecting historic attendance. (Wall Street, meanwhile, is booming as prices rise.) But it is not the scale of the protests that gives them meaning beyond their spectacle, but the values they enact and the staying power they endure long after the crowds have dispersed.
Many of us feel the urge to remain silent out of fear, hoping that if we ignore the evil, it will go away. Many non-white citizens fear ICE and remain silent for fear of being stopped or deported. Panic fuels rumors, which in turn make the panic worse. people are worried. Should I take my kids to school, go to work, or shop at the mall?
It is unlikely that a government that tolerates or commits violent acts one after another will relent. History reminds us that fascism rose in Europe not because tyranny suddenly arose, but because the people quickly stopped resisting.
Protesting is both an answer and a risk. The civil rights marches of the 1960s demonstrated how moral clarity, disciplined strategy, and nonviolence can transform rebellion into national transformation. In Birmingham and Selma, protesters faced off with fire hoses and police dogs to force Congress to act. In the wake of the No Kings protests, Congress could require the president to retaliate, a move that could be upheld by the Supreme Court.
In contrast, the anti-Vietnam War movement, though ambitious, collapsed under its own weight. Internal divisions and violent clashes alienated potential allies.
The Arab Spring provides another warning. A mob overthrew the government, but without sustained unity, power returned to the generals. Revolutions often replace one form of tyranny with another. In Castro’s Cuba, liberation quickly created new poverty, corruption, and cronyism.
Anne Frank’s diary teaches us that where oppression begins rarely predicts where it will end. Dehumanizing propaganda, fear, and social pressure rapidly increase. The fall from complacency to disaster is rarely visible until it is too late. Every day, in small moments, we exchange what we know with what someone else feels.
But protests themselves can turn into oppression. The “Wake” and anti-Wake movements share the same flaw. It is about privileging some prejudices over others and silencing opposing views. To prevent the perception of collapse, protests can suppress dissent, distrust of differences, and censor critics.
Movements survive not by unanimity but by protecting dissent. Multiple voices prevent dogmatism. The goal is to preserve, not overthrow, and to reaffirm that power belongs to the people. Real protests expand the public sphere by establishing neighborhood associations, providing legal aid, and promoting mutual support.
Forging connections becomes political resistance because people are appointed agents to commit violence. All acts of solidarity, such as feeding strangers, defending the voices of others, and refusing to dehumanize our opponents, are more destructive than anger.
Each action is important. These days, for some people, it starts with simply having the courage to get out of bed. For others, it’s a defiance of ignoring the news. Enlightened people can practice mindfulness, and parents can protect their children from fear by reading a second happy story before bedtime. Our tragic absurdity is such that Kipling’s lines should be corrected: who Are you crazy?
Another line comes to mind. William Blake wrote, “To generalize is to be a fool; to particularize is the only distinction of merit.” What matters is not the “innocent victims” but the neighbors, María Luisa Cortés and her children, Juan, Alicia, and Jesús. Not just people, but names too. And not just the name my name, your It’s not just about the next election.
Important things may not add up. maybe simply Case. My pastor, Rev. Matthew Wooster of UCC Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights, Ohio, tells an old African story about making change. Kenya’s Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Green Belt Movement, recalled: This is a story about birds and wildfires. This is called “deep and shallow.”
A hummingbird carries water droplets from a nearby lake towards the raging flames. Large animals run away. Jagger mocks her, saying her efforts are pointless. she replies, “I’m doing the best I can.”
The forest spirits are moved and send rain to put out the fire. In other versions, creatures also participate.
The biggest gatherings still depend on people getting out of bed. That’s deep irony. We may only be able to send a single drop to hell. But in a chaotic system, whether it’s a forest or a society, small disruptions ripple outward. To withhold a drop is to deny the possibility of change. We don’t believe in miracles, we believe in interconnectedness.
Not a drop of fire can be extinguished. The president loves bonfires. But that first drop can cause a flood and turn the crowd into a community of firefighters.
A siren sounds.
notes and reading
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The first massno king” Protests will take place on June 14, 2025, in more than 2,000 locations in the United States and abroad, with organizers estimating between 4 million and 6 million participants. The Oct. 18 rally is a subsequent “day of action” and is expected to draw an even higher turnout.
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The president has hinted several times that he could invoke broad state powers. rebellion law “as needed”
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Rudyard Kipling — Quote from if (1910): “If you can keep your head when you’re losing everything about yourself/Them…you’ll be a man, son!”
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William Blake — marriage of heaven and hell (1790–1793).
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“A little bit every day…” — Pastor Steve Garners Holmes, “Persist” spreading light (October 15, 2025).
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Wangari Maathai — environmental activist and first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize (2004). She often told this parable to illustrate personal responsibility during a crisis. look Hummingbird: The story of Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai (Kindle edition, 2019).
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“Birds and Wildfires”—Cf. The “butterfly effect” is a metaphor for how small actions can become unpredictable forces of change that ripple outward. It was popularized by meteorologist Edward N. Lorenz in a 1972 speech to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. “Can the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil cause a tornado in Texas?”
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Unfinished revolution — atlantic oceanNovember 2025 issue.
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The parable of the widow and the unjust judge — Luke 18:1–8. Persistence is stubborn belief. Justice is God’s mercy that surpasses the judgment of any human court. This verse will be read this Sunday, October 19th (at the beginning of pre-Lent in the Western and Eastern Orthodox Churches).
The truth about strangers (1797-1883) – “Am I not a woman?” Men will probably give up.
If God created the first woman
was strong enough to rotate
The world has turned upside down and I’m all alone
these women together
It should be possible to restore it, but
And again, turn the right side up!
And now they’re asking you to do it,
Men should do that!
+ Excerpt from Sojourner Truth’s speech at the Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, 1851. This is one of the most famous speeches in American history. An itinerant preacher, Truth was a strong advocate of both the abolition of slavery and women’s suffrage, and was noted for her towering presence (six feet tall) and commanding oratory.
broken joy
scandal of democracy
Approximately 2+2=5
Source: 2 + 2 = 5 – williamgreen.substack.com
