I spent some time (last) Saturday among a couple thousand or so who gathered at the Nebraska State Capitol for the No Kings rally.

As a journalist, a big part of being at Lincoln’s version of No Kings (one of 15 across Nebraska) — as it is with any similarly-situated event — was to see the numbers, measure the vibe and determine what, if anything, was new or newsy.

To wit: While the enterprise was peaceful, people did express their considerable displeasure and growing frustration with the country’s current leadership. Call it good trouble with a joyful noise of cheers, chants and a chorus of supportive car horns along Capitol Parkway.

Much of that sentiment was displayed on hundreds of fierce, funny signs, some pointed — and a few profane — but each adding to an undercurrent of commitment that permeated the proceedings. Prominent, too, as was the case in June’s No Kings event, as was the presence of the American flag. Just saying.

While I was there to exercise my rights associated with the press — a Constitutional guarantee under siege in some cities — I also happily exercised my right to be part of a peaceable assembly attempting to petition the government to stop with all its illiberal nonsense.

One could also argue the signs and voices of thousands fell within the confines of their speech rights, which meant had I fallen to my knees in an unencumbered prayer of my choosing, or intentionally refrained from doing so, I could have made a clean sweep of exercising the First Amendment’s quintet of liberties.

I mention those democratic principles on which we conduct (or are at least supposed to conduct) civic and political discourse, because before the rally, some of official Washington sounded as though the nation was about to be overrun by conquering hordes of subversives, desperadoes bent on destroying all we hold dear.

Normally, one might attribute such hyperbole (the details of which you’ll find in the next two paragraphs) to political puffery, simple blather or plain gasbaggery. But, as you’ve noticed, we no longer live in normal times.

For the record: I neither hate my country nor support Hamas, ideas trafficked by some Republican leaders such as House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who went as far as to declare our Lincoln assembly a “terrorist” event.

While I read no specific comment from Nebraska’s congressional delegation on No Kings events, there is unfortunately more: I am not a Marxist, the appellation I might have trouble defining in terms relevant to modern politics but one Johnson used to describe the millions in the streets on Saturday. I am, however, an unrepentant fan of the Constitution and its principles.

Oh, and that whole antifa boogeyman shtick, the one Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy used to insist No Kings participants were members? Turns out antifa, as in anti-fascism, is an idea, not an organization of which people can become a member like the YMCA or Young Republicans. Go figure.

Finally, in response to one more charge of those trying to diminish the impact of a gathering of millions of Americans to express their unhappiness with the current administration, no one, including oft-cited bogeyman George Soros, paid me, offered to pay me or even handed me a coupon for a free sub sandwich or discounted car wash for my attendance.

That about covers everything from the let’s-just-make-it-up-and-see-what-happens crowd. To the obvious chagrin of many, the No Kings assemblage was also a diverse lot, a constituency of colors, genders, ages and abilities. The group’s individuals were clearly equal in their rally status, too.

They were eager to include and encourage friends and strangers alike. All of which meant that if Lincoln’s No Kings rally was a government agency, it would have been unceremoniously closed, lest its DEI energy infect the local body politic.

I saw no masked federal agents, but the faces and nametags of two local police officers riding by on bicycles were in full view. Sprinkled among the crowd were some counter-protestors, others touting personal causes and, I’m guessing, a few professional people watchers and assorted looky-loos there to enjoy the view.

News reports peg the total number of people at No Kings events at 7 million, a couple million more than showed up in June. Despite the sophomoric, name-calling and lies about who was there and why, that’s a whole lot of dissent. Which, last I checked, is a hallmark of our democratic republic and the right and responsibility of citizens living in one.

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/10/20/good-trouble-with-a-joyful-noise/

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