The Republic vs. The Crown, Reborn
America faces its oldest enemy once more — the lust for kingship. Millions marched under the banner “No Kings,” rejecting Trump’s authoritarian revival. From 1776 to 2025, the cry remains the same: liberty or servitude.
There comes a time in the life of every free people when the line between liberty and servitude is drawn not by the hand of the tyrant but by the silence of the governed. That line stands before us now. The words of Thomas Jefferson, written in a time of peril, still cut like a sword through the fog of our present: “A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.” He spoke of George III, yet every syllable fits Donald Trump like a tailored crown.
This man, bloated with vanity and lust for power, has sought not to preside over a free nation but to reign over subjects. He hungers for the pomp of monarchy without its dignity, the scepter without the responsibility, the throne without the consent of the governed. He has revived the oldest enemy of mankind—tyranny—and wrapped it in the flag, as if the stars and stripes were stitched not by patriots but by courtiers.
On the 18th of October, true patriots poured into the streets beneath a single banner: No Kings. It was not a mob but a multitude. It was not chaos but conscience. From city to city, their cry rose: that America will not bow, not to a crown, not to a demagogue, not to a tyrant in a red tie or a powdered wig. Over seven million stood upon our own soil, and countless millions abroad, as if the world itself had paused to remind us of who we are. For what nation may call itself free when the world marches to save it from itself?
Let us speak plainly of the injuries we have endured, for tyranny loves euphemism, but liberty demands clarity. The administration has turned its wrath upon those states that do not bend the knee. It has taxed the poor and the middle class while laying rich banquets for the wealthy. It has assailed free speech with tear gas, grenades, and the boot of the soldier. These are not the acts of a president; these are the habits of a king.
We know this story well. The Stamp Act. The Townshend Acts. The Tea Act. The Boston Massacre. The forced religion, the soldiers in our streets, the taxation without representation—these were the sparks that lit the Revolution. And now the embers have returned, fanned by the hands of a man who fancies himself the heir not to Washington but to every despot we once cast off. He follows the dark script of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini—for tyranny has but one language, and he speaks it fluently.
And yet—how like the past this present moment is. In 1776, half the colonists sided with the crown. They were called Loyalists, though loyalty to tyranny is but servitude by a gentler name. They preferred the crumbs of a king’s feast to the labor of freedom. Today, their modern inheritors wear red caps and repeat the slogans of a man who would strip them of the very liberty they pretend to defend.
They are told that taxes are falling, when in truth the burden shifts like a thief in the night. The tariff, the sales tax, the hidden tribute extracted from the common man to fatten the coffers of the rich—it is the same old trick in new clothes. The wealthy will save millions, while the people pay at every counter, every pump, every humble table. This is not relief. It is plunder wrapped in the language of prosperity.
But the “No Kings” movement is not a matter of taxes alone—it is a cry for the soul of the republic. The colonists once threw snowballs and were met with musket fire. Now protesters stand unarmed and receive tear gas and stun grenades from the National Guard—Americans turned upon Americans at the command of one man. On that day, the far right drove vehicles into peaceful citizens. This is not democracy; this is the grim theater of fascism.
The tyrant’s defenders call these protests un-American. But what, I ask, could be more American than rising against a would-be king? If they had lived in 1776, these same men would have called the Boston patriots traitors, denounced the Revolution as chaos, and pledged their allegiance to the crown. They would have spat upon the Declaration before it was dry.
Let us also name what the right condemns. They denounce Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ people, feminists, and those they call “Antifa”—a name they use as a curse, though to be anti-fascist is to stand precisely where the American Revolution began. Every movement for liberty is branded a threat by those who fear losing their privilege over others. The tyrant must have his enemies, even if he must invent them.
The signers of the Declaration of Independence risked their lives to write in ink what we must now write again in action: that no king shall rule this people. Jefferson wrote, “He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.” In his time, it was George III. In ours, it is Trump and those who bend the knee to him.
Let us not deceive ourselves. Tyranny does not vanish of its own accord. It must be resisted, uprooted, and cast into the sea. Our forefathers did not win liberty through comfort or convenience. Neither shall we. It is better to stand and fight for a republic than to kneel and live in a gilded cage.
We must choose now as they once did—between liberty and submission, between the birthright of citizens and the chains of subjects. No king then. No king now. No king ever.
Why It Matters
History does not repeat—it rhymes. The “No Kings” movement marks a national reckoning: whether Americans will defend their inheritance of liberty or kneel before a modern despot cloaked in patriotism. The protest is not just political—it’s existential. The same spirit that once defied George III now confronts Trump’s authoritarian mimicry. To stay silent is to consent to the crown reborn.
Key Takeaways
- The “No Kings” movement rejects Trump’s authoritarian ambitions.
- The parallels between 1776 and 2025 reveal history’s warning.
- Tyranny thrives on silence, not strength.
- Protest is not un-American—it is the most American act of all.
- Liberty must be defended anew with every generation.
Further Reading
- “Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations” – Craig Nelson. A riveting portrait of the writer who lit the spark of American rebellion. https://civilheresy.com/thomas paine
- “God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything” – Christopher Hitchens. A blistering defense of reason and resistance against blind obedience. https://civilheresy.com/god is not great
- “The Road to Unfreedom” – Timothy Snyder. A chilling look at how authoritarianism spreads through nations that forget their democratic roots. https://civilheresy.com/road to unfreedom
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