American Politics, 2026

This is a photo from the "No Kings" rally in Rutland, Vermont. 

The main reason I attended was to hear the band of Krishna Guthrie (second from right), the great-grandson of the famed folk/protest singer Woody Guthrie and grandson of Arlo Guthrie. The last number was Woody's "This Land Is Your Land." Singing along with a real Guthrie leading it was special.

As far as politics goes, I am not a big fan of "No Kings." I am not the first to point out that these pleasant rallies do not challenge the nation's status quo. They focus their anger, such as it is, on the moron in the White House and not the system that created him, or the country (ours) that has wreaked havoc and violence on the rest of the world -- and many of its own people -- for most of its existence. As Martin Luther King, Jr., said, we are the greatest purveyor of violence in the world.

The "United States" is a deeply broken society. We need to do more than think about our own welfare and comfort. Yes, we need regime change right here at home. But far more important, we need to join the community of nations as an equal, with peace in our hearts and a belief that no one's life is less important than anyone else's. We need to starve our own war machine to death and end our mad rampage across the globe.

I'm interested to see other posts from "No Kings" true believers here. What are you thinking? "City Daily Photo" is a community of bloggers from around the world -- albeit almost exclusively from the Global North and "Western" countries including Australia. Would this be a good place to not pat ourselves on the back for these minimally effective demonstrations?