On Saturday, I joined the No Kings Day protest in Ardmore, an affluent suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  I was scared, but I had to go.

“Action binds anxiety,” is a maxim in my daytime work.  The current political environment creates an ambient fear, like computer malware jamming wi-fi and wasting battery.  I needed to get out and act.

Protesting was also scary, with the current situation in Los Angeles and ongoing threats from the branch of government vested with executing the law.  I was only going to exercise, and thereby keep strong and limber, my rights under the First Amendment.  This would be subject to the moods of the people elected to serve me in government, though.

What I saw 

No Kings Day called the Ardmore event a “visibility” event.  We had no speakers or central location.  Instead, we spread out along both sides of a two-block commercial stretch of US Route 30.  Nobody blocked traffic, the sidewalk, or driveways.  I walked the whole line.

There were signs, but they were all family-safe.  The same was true for the occasional chants.  I carried an Old El Paso taco box.  It was easy to understand and funny and I could drop it if I had to.  I never came close.  A salesman at the Acura dealer offered me a discount on a new car if I brought the box.

I saw the American flag, used as a symbol of protest, a symbol of love for the Constitution and the ideals of America.  I saw neighbors talking with neighbors and laughing and cheering.  I heard no anger and never felt scared.

Like a parade

The atmosphere was like a holiday parade.  Most of the passing drivers and passengers waved and honked, and nobody argued with those who didn’t.  I saw a few scattered individual counter-protestors but nobody showed up in combat gear.  All of the many police looked bored.

Our official end time was 11:00 AM.  Nobody chased us off.  Nobody had to.  At 11:03 or so, the protest ended and people started to leave.

America is not an oligarchy, not if we don’t allow that.  I am an American citizen, the equal to any elected official and perhaps a bit more than any lawmaker who cannot read a law, as I can.  This country, at least in our enduring ideal, belongs to me just as much as any billionaire.