I seriously thought about attending one of those No Kings Day protests with my Earth and Gadsen Flags. But I was more interested in smoking pot and riding my mountain bike in the wilderness, and not wasting my time on silly things like politics. I didn’t want to be on the camera and reported by newspapers as the freak at the No Kings Day with a Don’t Tread on Me Flag, even if opposition to tyrancy is what No Kings Day is supposed to be all about and not just electing another Hubert Humphrey or Kamela Harris. Humphrey was a nice guy, but his politics of beige walls and suits were just awful. We don’t need more of the same, when things are so broken in this world. We need politicians who are willing to blow shit up and try new ideas, even dangerous ones. Kind of like Trump has done, even if many of them are certain to fail due to overwhelming evidence that they are bad policy choices.
Honestly, I get it that the Democratic Party needs to show that it’s still it’s relevant and that they need something to organize around, namely the aggressive actions of the Trump administration. It’s not all that different from the Tea Party Protests of 15 years ago, when activists and other conservative-minded (and arguably liberty-minded) indiivduals were protesting the aggressive actions of the Obama administration during the Great Recession. No Kings Protests are grass root in nature, but organized and funded professionally by corporate interest, not unlike the Tea Party with their organization and promotion rooted in corporate interests represented by Freedom Works! But hopefully there is more to their ideas then going back to status quo, and opposing power except when they are in power.
The truth is the government should be viewed cynically, power opposed. Resistance is an important part of politics, which ultimately is about give and take and making the best choices for the largest number of people. There are many good ideas that can be taken too far. Resistance and criticism is necessary to keep power in check. I wish partisans would be more critical of their own party when they were in power. Trump might be a shit head, but that doesn’t make Harris that greatest person ever.
Trump 2.0 is the crudest example of Presidential power in recent memory. There used to be regal nature to the presidency, at least a pretense of respect and non-partisanship but that has gone out of the window. But maybe that’s a good thing, as for too long we’ve pretended that politicians were good and not in for themselves and their supporters. That there was something beyond a man, that government was about service not just extracting wealth out of primarily the poor.
Democrats are learning a lot from Trump. They are learning to be more ruthless for when they come back into power. Politicians watch each other for the new norms. Maybe it’s a good thing that we are knocking government and public service down a few notches – we should be more contemptful towards society institutions that do not serve the public well. We should be instead advocating for their change.
Chances are the No Kings Protests will rumble on for next few years, and Democrats will pick up some seats in the mid-terms, and with control of the house neuter some of the worse aspects of the Trump 2.0 Presidency. There will be investigations, and revelations that help to keep the Trump administration more honest. And that’s a good thing. With government controlled by one party, it seems like there isn’t enough oversight or representation of all Americans. That said, with the contemptible actions of the President, already we are seeing the resistance in both the public and state and local governments.
Truth is I don’ t really care one way or another. Time will march on, politics will balance out when the excesses of Trump administration lead to failures and disgust with the incumbents that get them thrown out and Democrats pick up seats across government. Power is fragile in a democracy, and in modern times it’s uncommon for one party to have complete control of government for any length of time. If anything, by the late 2020s, we will have divided government if not government controlled entirely by Democrats to run wild, break things, and get booted out of office in 2030s. Like they say in Texas, don’t like the weather, drive a bit further, and it will be different. Don’t like the politics, and wait a few years and it’s certain to be different.