OPINION: It’s the least we can do

My younger sister joined the No Kings protest at the capitol on June 14 with friends from her West Des Moines neighborhood. Most of them have never been politically active.

She told me these friends, all widows in their 70s and 80s, had reached a point where they felt they just had to do something. That same feeling motivated an estimated 13 million Americans to lend their voices to the nationwide No Kings protests.

These protests may become a grassroots movement like we have seen rise before in American history; a movement that happens when people feel helpless and frustrated and when there doesn’t seem to be much of anything else they can do until the next election.

The No Kings protests were held in cities and small towns in nearly every state. Iowa had several around the state, including one here in Creston with 100 or more supporters joining in. My daughter-in-law from Dubuque and two of my granddaughters attended and were impressed with the number of people who turned out.

Americans are frustrated and worried over continuing inflation and soaring prices, and now there’s the threat of even higher prices due to excessive tariffs. The arbitrary firing of federal government workers and its effect on services for their clients also increases the level of anxiety.

There’s been no progress in Ukraine’s war with Russia; in fact, strikes against one another are intensifying. Killing and starving of the people in Gaza continues, and no one seems willing to stop it. And now, we’ve gotten involved in the never-ending conflict between Israel and Iran.

However, the issue that has sparked the most unrest is the conduct of ICE and the indiscriminate and terrifying roundup and deportation of immigrants, many who make up our tax-paying labor force in America.

Those troubled by these circumstances have joined the outcry against the harsh policies and incompetence of the administration. With mid-term elections more than a year away, it’s the least we can do.

The No Kings protests certainly sent a message, and hopefully some politicians were listening. There are reports, however, the success of the protests, and embarrassment over the less-than-spectacular military/birthday parade, have led to plans to step up deportation of immigrants, targeting blue states in particular.

The No Kings protest is much like those we’ve seen before when the people challenge an administration in power. It happened during the civil rights movement when protesters challenged state authorities who resisted desegregation for Black Americans. It took decades of protests and marches, and sometimes terrible violence against protesters, before laws were passed prohibiting discrimination based on race.

History has many other examples of change through protesting. A profound change occurred when the Soviet Union collapsed because of grassroots efforts by citizens in its smaller states.

Vietnam was the quintessential protest by American citizens as they struggled to end wartime policies of their government. War between North and South Vietnam had been going on for a decade when the U.S. got involved. First, President Kennedy, then President Johnson and finally President Nixon, inserted America into the conflict and sent our troops into battle, convincing the American people it was necessary to be involved in Southeast Asia for our own protection. I remember being in support at first of their decision.

As the war drug on, Americans began to question our involvement, and as troop casualties rose, protests became more and more passionate. We then learned Johnson and Nixon had been lying to the American people about military operations in Southeast Asia. It became clear our troops, subject to the draft at the time, were fighting and losing their lives in a hopeless war. When the U.S. finally withdrew, more than 58,000 Americans were dead and 300,000 wounded.

It took a long time for the protests to have an effect, but without them, fighting would have continued for who knows how long? We could have lost thousands more of our troops, and millions more people in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos could have died. Unbelievably, today, Vietnam is reunited and a beautiful country that has become a tourist favorite.

When leaders lie, try to control every aspect of our lives; when dictators try to rule with an iron hand, people eventually decide they’ve had enough. That’s what No Kings was all about.