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One Big Thing:

Peaceful, public protests are the single most powerful tool a democratic republic has to affect change.

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In 2026, the American people are demanding our government keep its “Hands Off!” our people, streets and places of business in even greater numbers since last April 5, when the first “Hands Off!” National Day of Action rally was held in Washington, D.C. and in over 1200 other locations across the country. The protests were organized by Indivisible, MoveOn, and Third Act, which led over 150 groups, like civil rights organizations, labor unions, climate activists, veterans groups, Planned Parenthood and the American Federation of Teachers in protest against President Trump’s policies, including Elon Musk’s “DOGE’ and its random firings of hundreds of thousands of federal workers.

Organizers estimated that nearly 5 million people in all 50 states and more in other countries marched and chanted in protest that spring day. NPR put together photos of the rallies from across the country here, and it is inspiring.

Less than a year later, millions more Americans have taken to our streets to show their displeasure with President Trump’s unprecedented and often illegal, actions and policies enacted in his second term. The two “No Kings” rallies —the first on June 14, 2025, drew more than 5 million protesters, and the second gathered nearly 7 million people in rallies across the country. According to Ezra Levin, the co-founder of Indivisible, and one of the organizers of both the “Hands Off!” and “No Kings” rallies, the third “No Kings” rally is planned for March 28, 2026, and is in response to the: “secret police force terrorizing American communities.” He expects at least 9 million people for this third spring effort, but I think we’ll soon be talking much larger numbers given ICEs killing of 2 American citizens in Minneapolis, and the massive, near-constant protests in sub-zero weather by thousands of brave Minnesotans.

We can’t assume, though, that most or even many Americans are aware of these current rallies against the Trump Administration, or even that our right to peaceably protest our government’s words and actions is written into our constitution. People across the country, both those who vote and those who do not, simply don’t have the time or make the time to stay informed about politics and other news stories that don’t directly affect them. I personally know formally educated and intelligent citizens who think it’s unseemly, or perhaps unnecessary, to take to the streets and question our government’s actions. But when masked, armed men show up by the thousands in their city, rip people out of their cars or shoot citizens dead on their street corners, they look up, get angry and then, well, publicly protest—not just in the communities where this violence is happening, but across the country and the world.

How would you feel if you saw this scene in your community?

Why It Matters:

Because our constitution and the rule of law matter. We the people are our government, and when our government goes astray, tries from the top down to destroy itself, it is only the collective voice of the people that will stop its implosion.

According to Britannica, “The following graphic and table highlight the largest protests in U.S. history; each marks a significant moment of collective political and social activism.

The key word describing this graphic is “collective”. “…collective political and social activism.” When Americans show up in the millions to protest government policies, we usually prompt change. And today, we can document injustice ourselves with video and photo devices we carry in our pockets, giving evidence to our collective presence .

Still photos of injustice, particularly those captured by professional photo journalists, remain as powerful as ever, despite today’s crucial cell phone documentation by private citizens. These two photos are particularly important to me because each captures moments of protestors’ incredible bravery .

Incidentally, here is the First Amendment to our constitution in full, courtesy of Congress.gov.

First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Congress also provides annotations to help explain every section of the constitution—there’s no excuse for not having a basic working knowledge of a pretty great piece of writing…is there?

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First, which of the largest single-day protests listed in the Britannica chart above do you think had the most impact, regardless of numbers of people attending? How do you feel about public protests in general, taking to the streets in a collective challenge to government authority? Have your thoughts changed about protests in the last few months? I’d love for you to share your thoughts with me and our readers in the Comment Section below:

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