Protests prove America has no king

Dear Editor,

The recent “No Kings” protests miss a fundamental truth about our country, one that is staring everyone right in the face.

Americans are free to gather, protest, chant and criticize their government openly and without fear. That reality alone proves we do not live under a king, and never have.

From the very beginning, our nation rejected monarchy. After the Revolutionary War, George Washington was offered the opportunity to assume a king-like role, and he refused. That decision set the tone for a republic grounded in liberty, self-government, and the rule of law.

The First Amendment guarantees the right to assemble and speak freely. Ironically, those exercising that right in “No Kings” demonstrations are implying the very system they claim to oppose. If we actually lived under a king, such protests would not be permitted, let alone broadcast and celebrated.

Implying America is a monarchy is not just inaccurate, it diminishes the very freedoms that generations have fought to preserve.

No king permits dissent. The fact that Americans can protest freely is proof that our constitutional republic works, and that for nearly 250 years, we have lived without a king.

-Melissa Sarno, Vails Grove