During the 1970s there weren’t any Vietnam War protests in my home county of eastern KY. And I would have been too young to attend them anyway, as the war was over by 1975 as I left for college.

But now, 50 years later, I will attend my first political protest – No Kings Day in Louisville, on June 14, downtown. This wasn’t a bucket list item – never saw this coming – but it’s necessary. As the wildly corrupt and destructive second term of Donny Convict moves us ever-toward a dictatorship, we’ve got to do something and a peaceful protest is a good start. I hope a lot of Louisville comes out for this cause.

I realize that protests can turn ugly – Louisville has seen that before, with the civil unrest after the Breonna Taylor incident. I’ll be on the watch for that, as MAGA-types could show up and make it into a confrontation. I have no interest in that. And I think this gathering is fundamentally different. The Breonna riots were prompted by rage and the violence of injustice. This protest should be a more measured gathering of people who see the erosion of our freedoms and want to stop it by being seen/heard. With similar protests happening all over the country on the same day, it can be a powerful statement to the people who have to wake up and stop Mad King Donnie – particularly SCOTUS, Congress, the entire legal profession/industry and the press. Those are the organizations and people who, if they are convinced that millions of Americans will back them up, may finally summon the courage to use their Constitutional power to put MKD in check. Or better, checkmate.

I like the No Kings Day tagline: “We’re fighting for democracy. Let’s make them listen.”

We’re in a historic, critical moment – a moment in which our country could become better, or much, much worse. I already feel better knowing that I’m going to do something to try and bend the arc of the moral universe back toward justice.