I attended the No Kings protest on March 28, 2026. It was my fourth time to join others in such a rally to make our voices heard as we witness Donald Trump overlooking the rules that are clearly stated in the Constitution. I have been happy to be able to continue to assert my first amendment rights and to be with people who are willing to use those rights to make our concerns public. 

I went twice to downtown Houston, Texas and marched in the streets of the city. I was impressed with how peaceful and kind all of the people there were. Some came with coolers filled with water to share with anyone who became hot or dehydrated. Others brought flowers that they gave randomly to people in the crowd or to the police officers who were making sure that we were going to be safe and not become the victims of someone hoping to do us harm. I very much enjoyed the feeling that we were not that much different than some of my ancestors of long ago who decided to join the American Revolution of two hundred fifty years ago. 

Later I found out that there were also No Kings protests closer to my home. Given that my father-in-law’s health has been fading and my knees have been giving me lots of trouble I chose to see was it was like at the rally in Pearland, Texas on my third go around. Given that Pearland is a notoriously red town I did not expect to find the crowd of seven hundred kindred spirits who were there. It was uplifting to know that I was not alone in my anxieties about the present state of our union.

I had a total knee replacement only weeks ago. I am still in physical therapy and it will be many weeks before I will be totally healed. Even though I wanted to be part of the march in downtown Houston I knew that my artificial knee was not yet up to the task of walking many blocks on hard concrete in the midst of a crowd of thousands. So I decided to return to the lovely park where the folks in Pearland would be gathering. With a sturdy chair, a wide brimmed hat and plenty of water I set out with my husband to sit and listen to the local speakers who laid out their reasons for being there. 

It was a great experience. Once again everyone was polite and helpful and eager to voice their concerns about the present state of our government. Most of those who spoke were stunning and it made me feel great to be in their presence. I listened raptly for two hours and felt more and more certain that the American people are genuinely good individuals who want what is best for everyone, not just a select few.

It was with a great deal of hopefulness that I posted photos of my No Kings adventure on Facebook. Over forty of my friends many of whom had been colleagues and former students showed their support for what I had done, but one soul challenged me to explain why I felt the need to protest anything about our current president. He then listed all of the things that he believes make the president great, not someone to be criticized. 

I did not want to turn my joy into a debate that I already suspected would not change anyone’s mind, especially the man who disagreed with me. I have known him for a very long time and I understand his political views even though I disagree with most of them. I realized that if I had taken the bait it would not have made a difference and then some of my protective friends might have thrown themselves into the debate. I did not choose to ruin the happiness that I was feeling so I simply deleted his comment without response.

Now I am ready to defend my views which I have done many times with my blogs. The truth is that I don’t really know where or how to begin because I truly believe that Donald Trump is indeed the worst president that our nation has ever had. He is the nightmare of those among the Founding Fathers who tried so hard to set up a system of three separate branches of government that would keep any one group from operating alone. Sadly at the moment that system is not working the way it was meant to be. 

So here are the bullet points for why I was at a No Kings protest:

• First of all I believe that Donald Trump should have been impeached after January 6, 2021 when he lied to his supporters that the election was rigged and then goaded them to go to Congress to stop the transfer of power. 
• Then of course there are the many crimes of which Trump has been accused and sometimes even found guilty of perpetrating including sexually attacking women, unlawfully keeping documents and then impeding the process of reclaiming them, and being far too close to Jeffry Epstein to believe that he is totally innocent.
• The economy of the United States was the best in the world when Trump came back into office. Since then he has illegally placed outrageous tariffs on other countries that have resulted in higher prices on virtually everything we purchase and has negatively affected the worldwide economy.
• Trump’s overly aggressive immigration policies have not resulted in an effective process of finding and deporting illegals who have been engaged in criminal activities in spite of his boasting that he is making us less dangerous by taking such people off of the streets. In fact, President Obama has a much better track record of finding and deporting the most egregious illegals.
• The methods of ICE are uncalled for and have resulted in innocents being sent to detention centers and deaths that need not have happened. They operate like a secret police more than a force for law and order.
• Without consultation with CongressTrump has committed our country to war against Iran without thought of how to end the hostilities.
• Trump has insulted our allies and boasted that he is going to take Greenland and rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. He has undone decades of diplomacy and shown our allies that our country can no longer be trusted. 
• Trump has created a cabinet of nonsensical people who only know how to flatter him but are not up to the task of running the FBI, the Defense Department, the Department of Justice, the CIA, the Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of Homeland Security. 
• Presently Trump is doing everything possible to pass a law that would make it difficult for millions of people to vote just to insure that Republicans never again lose an election.
• Trump has done his best to turn us against immigrants, people of color, women, and members of the LGBTQ community, most especially the tiny number of trans people who exist in our nation. His cruelty is stunning.
• Trump pretends to be a religious man but shows no signs whatever that he is a man of faith in anyone but himself. 
• Trump lies as he breathes and seems only concerned about enriching himself and his family.
• Trump shows signs of an elderly man whose mind is dwindling and should not be charged with making important decisions.

I could go on and on and on but we all know that everything costs more than it did before Trump came into office. The effect of his policies have generally been to create so many problems that it will be decades before we will be able to restore our faith in the nation and our standing in the world. So, yes, I went to a protest and I will keep doing so because I love the Untied States and its people. I went because I want goodness and fairness for all Americans, not just those who are white and Christian. I went for all of the many people who have depended on the United States to be a safe and fair place. I will not remain silent hoping that all the damage just goes away. I do not believe that any of us should be complacent. So I will keep marching or sitting until there is positive change.