Approximately 2,000 of us San Joseans gathered in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, October 18, 2025, to protest Donald Trump’s authoritarian presidency. I saw Americans from all walks of life and representing all age groups, from babies in strollers under the loving care of their parents to children, students, working moms and dads and veterans in wheelchairs to a 105-year-old woman with a walker and holding a sign that read, “I am 105 and striving to survive worst president since I’ve been alive!”
Downtown
San Jose resonated with our irreverent, vigorous voices demanding the rule of law, an end to immigration raids, mass government layoff, steep budget cuts, in effect, preventing Trump from dismantling the U.S. Constitution. One poster summed up the
reason why we were protesting, with our fellow Americans from more than 2,600 cities
and towns across all fifty states and beyond: “Democracy dies when good
people stay silent.”
We
met at noon at the intersection of North 2nd Street and East Saint James Street,
and after about 45 minutes of full-throated slogans, we walked through the busy
streets of downtown San Jose, including in front of City Hall, supported by
loud honks from motorists passing by. Smiling and friendly policemen guided us
along our route to keep the march orderly and prevent any traffic jams.
Authoritarianism
and fascism are on the rise throughout the world as a democratic recession takes
hold. In the United States, the rule of law is vanishing as Trump bends the judiciary
to his will, supported by a genuflecting Republican Party. There is no independent
judiciary anymore. Threats against the right to speak freely, undermining higher institutions of learning through threats and blackmail, and the unethical grab of power by
all three branches of government as dictated by Trump, are crippling our
country.
On
this “No Kings Day," we were asserting our rights to get our rights back from Trump’s blatant assault on the Constitution. He
has deployed U.S. troops in our cities to round up people he deems undesirable,
including American citizens.
Democracies
do not die from without but from within. Today’s “No Kings Day" is proof that we
will not let our democracy die from within, no matter how powerful Trump and
the Republican Party may think they are. More than the Constitution and the
rule of law, it is the ideas of liberty, freedom and democracy in our
hearts that are the most powerful weapons against authoritarianism and fascism.
What
heartened me today in my city of San Jose was the sense of unity and duty that bound
us together. The signs and props told the story more eloquently than any journalistic
reporting could. Here are some:
“My
dad fought fascism. So do I!” “No troops
on our streets.” “Reject Fascism.” “My dad was Antifa. The only one who called
him a traitor was Hitler.” “Immigrants and slaves built America.” “Hate won’t
make America great.” “The power of the people is stronger than people in power.”
And, of course, the ubiquitous “No kings in America.”
Tyrants
and dictators fear satire and parody because they reveal their weakness and emptiness.
Comedians speak truth to power and so become thorns in their sides. Some signs
played on this truth:
“Give
us liber-tea. Hold the ICE.”
An
elderly lady held this sign: “The only orange monarch I want.” Underneath was the
picture of a monarch butterfly.
“Dear
great pumpkin, please do something
about your evil cousin.”
“No
kings. Only Burger King.”
And
this sign affixed to a stroller from which is peering a baby girl: “A woman’s place is in the resistance.”
I
was touched by two women with these signs on their T-shirts, front and back, to
help any diabetic patients in the rally if needed.
There
will be more future rallies and demonstrations across America against Trump as his illegal
grab for power becomes more brazen. Any American concerned about the fate of
democracy and of a government of the people, by the people, for the people, not
perishing from our beloved country, needs to participate. Silence translates to support for Trump. Every time I participate in these rallies, I feel connected to something larger than myself. It is a transcendent feeling that makes life worth living. If you have held back until now, it is not too late. Mark your calendar for the next rally in a city near you, and join. The transcendent feeling you experience will inspire and empower you and connect you to the foundational values that made America.
