June 14th: Fighting the Crown

In a country centered around democracy, Kings are something we simply don't have. But the way that people cheered on January 6th in favor of overturning the election results, and the way people have kept their mouths shut when presented with the reality of America today, tell an entirely different story.

Because, while our current president may not wear a crown, it is clear that he believes himself to be untouchable, and this alone represents the tragic nation that the United States of America is slowly but surely becoming. When a single man’s lies can incite a mob to scale the Capitol, when judges rule with political agendas instead of constitutional integrity, and when billionaires can decide what information we see and what voices are silenced, we must take a moment to recognize what is truly happening to our nation. More specifically, the fact that we are crawling back to exactly what we once broke away from.

That is why, on June 14th, thousands gathered in major cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Washington DC to express their beliefs in several ways. Namely, signs which spoke more than just the words written on them were held up in the name of our futures, and protesters stood up against what our nation is becoming. Teenagers and adults alike held cardboard scepters, wore paper crowns, and showed the world how they felt about the Presidency turning into a Kingship. It is easy to see that these acts were not out of pettiness, and certainly were not satire; they were a reckoning. This year's No Kings Day protests marked a turning point. No longer confined to online circles or symbolic gestures, the movement took physical form: in marches, teach-ins, and moments of civil disobedience. Protesters demanded accountability, not only from those who stormed the Capitol, but from the politicians, justices, and media figures who paved the way for them. They spoke out against unchecked executive power, a hyper-politicized Supreme Court, and legislation aimed at silencing dissent and erasing identity in the name of the new-found “King.” 

But the voracity of the protests were not the only stark observation to be made about them. The sheer number of protestors dictated something unique to recent times; that higher numbers of Americans than ever before are acting to protect their own futures, because the government refuses to.  An estimated six million people took time out of their day to protest, a powerful reflection of how many are deeply afraid for their futures. And while that number is staggering, it still doesn’t capture the full scale of fear spread across the country. Countless others supported the No Kings Movement from their own homes and communities, making their voices heard in quieter but equally impactful ways. Additionally, we must recognize something equally striking: the age of many of those who protested. These individuals were not only veteran activists or public policy wonks. But rather, they were students. Those who made signs to fight for their country are children who continue to sit at wooden desks in classrooms diminishing in size, holding pencils that their schools are losing the ability to afford, and reading books that will likely soon be ripped away from them in the name of “protecting the youth.” The teenagers and young adults who stood their ground at the protests are those who, by the 2028 election, will likely be able to vote. They are those who have seen their country crumble around them, and they have seen their futures be sold off to whatever corporation is willing to pay the most. It is clear to see that for them, No Kings Day isn't merely a lesson or the chance to seem like they care. Instead, it is the modern representation of what our founding fathers fought for hundreds of years ago; freedom from kingship. 

No Kings Day has taken us back in time, in the name of saving our future.

Because we are not simply living through a political divide. We are living through the slow, almost invisible erosion of democracy itself. Contrary to what movies depict the fall of a country as, America won't collapse all at once. It will recede like a tide, quietly pulling back as we continue to clap at fireworks, pledge allegiance, and tell ourselves we are still the land of the free. But freedom is nothing without the presence of accountability. Democracy without dissent is mere decoration. And Patriotism without protests, just like the ones that were held? That is pageantry. 

The June 14th protests were by no means held in hopes of burning down a system, but rather about demanding that the system in place begins to listen to those it is meant to represent. They were for the greater cause of spreading awareness that one class, one party, and one man should never dictate everything that happens to the future of America. They were about remembering that we were never meant to be ruled, ordered, and ignored. We are meant to be represented and considered. So if you rolled your eyes at the paper crowns, you missed the point. If you dismissed the chants as overdramatic, you weren’t listening. And if you find yourself asking why so many young Americans are angry, loud, and unwilling to play nice with a system rigged against them, then maybe it’s time to look not at them, but at the throne you’ve quietly helped build.

Because in the end, No Kings Day is not about left or right. It is not about theatrics or trends. It is about refusing to let power go unchallenged, no matter what title it hides behind. The protests on June 14th did not arise from hatred for this country, but from heartbreak over what it’s becoming and hope for what it still could be. The paper crowns were never a joke, but rather a warning, and if we are bold enough to wear them, we must also be brave enough to act. To question. To vote. To march. To demand that the system we inherited becomes one worth passing on. Because if we continue to pretend that this democracy can survive without participation, protest, and pushback, then we do not need a king to lose our freedom. We’ll have done it ourselves.

Sources

“Millions March in No Kings Protests Across the U.S.; Organizers Call for Restoration of Democratic Norms.” AP News, 14 June 2025. www.apnews.com/article/a3b67d23733cd060f8d01aef1e391dbf

“Were the No Kings Protests the Largest Single-Day Demonstration in American History?” The Guardian, 15 June 2025. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/19/no-kings-how-many-protesters-attended

Serrano, Andrea. “‘Houston at Its Best’: Mayor Praises Protesters and Police for Peaceful No Kings Event.” Houston Chronicle, 14 June 2025. www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/no-kings-protest-mayor-whitmire-20377488.php

“Banned in the USA: The Growing Movement to Censor Books in Schools.” PEN America, April 2024. www.pen.org/report/banned-usa-growing-movement-to-censor-books