Thousands gather Saturday at the Kansas Statehouse for the “No Kings” rally. (Matt Kleinmann)
On June 14, I joined thousands of folks marching around the Statehouse in Topeka. We weren’t there for any politician. It wasn’t about left or right. It was about the Constitution.
The same thing happened in other Kansas towns. Lenexa, Pittsburg, Lawrence. Some stood on sidewalks. Some just held signs at busy intersections. All told, more than 11 million people across the country showed up for “No Kings” rallies.
The next morning, a friend texted me, “What does that even mean — ‘No Kings’?” She wasn’t trying to debate. She really wanted to know.
Honestly, I think a lot of Kansans are in that boat. They care. They vote. They work hard. But they’re not tracking court rulings every day. So I tried to explain it the best I could.
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that presidents can’t be charged for a crime they commit if it’s part of their “official duties.” That means a president could order something illegal — say, go after political opponents or refuse to follow a court order — and not face charges, at least while in office. They also could use the military to refuse to leave office.
The legal logic behind this is called the unitary executive theory. It says the president has total control of the executive branch. That Congress and the courts don’t really have a say.
That’s not in the Constitution. But more and more, it’s how power’s being used.
We’ve already seen how that power grab works: Trump tried to end birthright citizenship by executive order. He ignored a federal judge on deportations. He froze money Congress had already approved. He went after lawyers who represent people he doesn’t like. Each of those violated the Constitution or a law.
That’s not how it’s supposed to work. The whole point of checks and balances is to stop that.
Some folks think this is overblown. That it’s all just noise, that all news media is a lie, or that nothing they do will change anything. I’ve seen the comments, and it’s disheartening. Or worse, some claim that using our First Amendment Rights to protest is going to lead to violence.
But I was there. And it wasn’t like that. People were energized but peaceful.
The group that organized it — 50501 — told everyone: no violence. Just show up and be counted, because research shows it only takes about 3.5% of a population showing up like that to tip the scales. Not everyone. Just enough to make those in power pay attention. “No Kings” saw 3.3% of the country show up.
We gathered, we talked with each other, we listened to speakers, and we all left feeling a little less alone.
But once you start naming what’s happening at the national level, it’s not difficult to see those same patterns closer to home.
When one person tries to take over multiple departments in local government. When a handful of people decide who gets to run for office and who gets pushed aside. When decisions happen behind closed doors, and the public gets cut out, and things just move forward anyway.
It might look like streamlining. But it’s really about skipping the process. And the process is where regular people still have a shot to be heard.
Somewhere along the way, we’ve lost trust in the process. In each other. In our government. In how decisions get made. I get it: Our trust is broken. But you don’t rebuild it by staying home or posting to social media. You rebuild it by showing up. By sharing what you have. By making the government work for us again.
It’s not fixed by us waiting around for one strong leader to solve it. They won’t. They can’t. And if we hand them too much power, it almost always corrupts them.
America doesn’t have kings. We forget that sometimes, but we shouldn’t. The freedom to govern ourselves is what our forefathers fought and died for: a government by the people and for the people.
The Declaration of Independence says: “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
That still matters. Or at least it should.
That’s why I marched. Not to yell. Not to fight.
But to remind folks that democracy takes showing up. Even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard.
Matt Kleinmann lives in Kansas City, Kansas. He works at the intersection of public health, community development, and policy. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.