Yes Kings

Where we're headed is worse than monarchy.

I’m glad there’ll be big protests here in VA05 and around the country today, and I hope the news coverage shows massive crowds. But while No Kings is a snappy slogan and fits nicely on a posterboard—and it identifies a real problem—it also obscures an even bigger threat.

No Kings, a message about Trump, lets his enablers off the hook. Entire institutions—the Supreme Court, Congress, the Republican Party writ large, corporations, some of the country’s best colleges and universities—are actively complicit in the abrogation of our rights to speak our minds and gather where we wish. They need to feel the heat too. (It’s great that UVA rejected Trump’s latest extortion attempt. If only the board had had enough spine to save Jim Ryan’s job.)

Besides, a monarchy might be prefereable if the alternative is life under the thumb of Trump and his cronies. Would you be that upset if America went in the direction of England, Sweden, Japan, Spain, Norway, the Netherlands, or Denmark?

These days, most kings and queens are bound by a constitution, norms, traditions, and thriving political parties. If you’ve watched The Crown, you know that Elizabeth could never simply wave her hand and make things happen. She couldn’t even let Margaret marry the man she loved because Parliament, the Church, and public opinion were against it. Imagine what would’ve happened if she’d mused about sending the Army to patrol the streets of Manchester.

So if you’re out on the streets today, thank you. Make lots of noise about Trump. And consider making some of it about everyone who’s helping America descend into something much worse than a monarchy.

- Boot