What I value, what I believe
Photo by Kyle Wong on Unsplash The day of the No Kings protest in June 2025, my family emerged from a quick visit to our local toy library to see a protest crowd gathering at the intersection right in front of us. My older child, who can now read, asked my husband, "Daddy, why are people here? And why do the signs say 'No Kings'?" My husband, forever game for a lesson in civics and critical thinking, explained that many people disagree with our president's actions right now and so were gathering to express that disagreement, because that freedom was an important part of our democracy. My kid frowned. "If I were in the protest, I would be quiet. I wouldn't be making a lot of noise." "Why?" my husband asked. "Because I trust the president." (Referring, we clarified, to the office of the president, not the actual sitting leader.) My husband began to pose a series of questions. What if the president said people could no longer co...
