BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:America/New_York X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VEVENT UID:99@coolcleveland.com DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York;VALUE=DATE:20260328 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York;VALUE=DATE:20260329 DTSTAMP:20260402T040653Z URL:https://coolcleveland.com/events/stand-up-for-democracy-at-no-kings-ra llies-march-28-by-claudia-j-taller/ SUMMARY:Stand Up for Democracy at No Kings Rallies March 28 by Claudia J. T aller DESCRIPTION:\nAccording to the No Kings organization\, over three thousand demonstrations are planned on Saturday\, March 28.\n“New polling shows P resident Donald Trump in negative territory on immigration\, foreign polic y and the economy\, with overall job approval also slipping as the midterm cycle approaches\,” wrote Sam Stevenson for Newsweek. If you are part o f the majority of Americans who disapprove of the direction of the country \, a rally and walk may be just the thing to give you hope and incentive t o work for change.\nMany people I know feel despair\, fear\, sadness and d eep spiritual concern for the United States right now. We can turn away fr om the news and pretend that everything’s fine\, or we can become educat ed and speak out about corruption\, chaos\, and cruelty. While the organiz ers say they want to counter Trump’s plans to feed his ego on his 80th b irthday and Flag Day\, other core concerns include federal immigration rai ds\, deployment of the National Guard\, disregard for human rights\, cruel ty to those imprisoned\, including some illegally\, mistreatment of women and other minorities\, building the coffers of millionaires\, disregard fo r the environment\, dismantling of federal agencies that supported us and kept us safe\, and starting a war that most Americans don’t want.\nYou m ay have your pet peeves\, or you may have many\, but if you disapprove of what’s going on in Washington\, you can act.\n\n\n \;\nFor many of u s\, deeply disturbing events create quietude and inertia. We hear about cr uelty\, corruption and chaos every day. A nine-year-old boy in a concentra tion camp in Texas pleaded for his freedom and living in horrific conditio ns\, and then the Trump administration limited access to the prison. The U nited States and Israel bomb Iran without the U.S. Senate’s approval and without NATO’s knowledge without a game plan to bring the war to an end \, and the President seemed surprised that things didn’t go his way even though there were warnings. Climate rollbacks\, labeled “corruption in action” by Democrats alleging environmental protections are removed in e xchange for political support from the fossil fuel industry. It doesn’t stop. No one’s stopping it. We have a President who believes he is above the law. Hence the name “No Kings.”\n The “No Kings” events prov ide opportunities for connection with like-minded people and provide hope for change. If you have concerns about showing up\, note that the core pri nciple behind all “No Kings” events is a commitment to nonviolent acti on\, and participants are expected to seek to de-escalation of any potenti al confrontation. Expect to hear speakers who are in leadership positions in the community talk about the reasons we must lift our voices and how we can do that. After a rally\, people start walking with their signs and Am erican flags\, and many times people walk away with a commitment to write congresspeople\, attend town halls\, show up for candidate talks\, and wri te postcards to voters. It’s comforting to know that  we are in this to gether.\n\nIn Cleveland\, participants will gather at the Free Stamp statu e at the corner of E. 9th Street and Lakeside at 1pm. From Ashtabula to Sa ndusky\, from Medina to Canton\, from Youngstown to Wooster\, and in count ies all over the State of Ohio\, people will take it to the streets to sho w the world “this is what democracy looks like.” A full list of rally sites is at Mobilize.us website.\nThe founding fathers envisioned a bounti ful land of natural beauty\, plentiful resources\, respect for all people\ , opportunities for immigrants\, freedom of speech and religion\, and demo cratic ideology. They created a structure of checks and balances to preven t abuse of power. This country was founded in protest of tyrannical cultur es in Europe and in support of the right of all people to have a good life . That vision is still what most of us still want\, wherever we are in our politics. Honestly\, this is a time for moral rectitude.\n\nA massive tur nout would be a public rebuke to Trump's actions. As his support weakens\, the media and Trump’s allies will be forced to notice when millions tak e to the street again. Maybe some will take a hard look at their morals\, change their opinions and become better leaders. The No Kings events shine the light on what’s not working and urges all of us to be better citize ns of the United States of America.\nDuring the Revolutionary War we fough t the good fight and won. It’s time for a new kind of revolution\, not w ith warlike attitudes but with peaceful ones. Be brave. Let’s get the “land of the free and brave” back. Go here to find a No Kings rally cl ose to you.\n\nClaudia J. Taller is a writer\, yoga teacher\, mindfulness leader\, avid reader\, nature lover\, and sometimes an artist and musician . Her books include 30 Perfect Days\, Finding Abundance in Ordinary Life. This reflective piece is the first one in her upcoming book All the Fleeti ng Days\, Deconstructing and Re-Imagining a Life.\n  [mappress mapid="559 "] ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://coolcleveland.com/wp-content/uploads/202 6/03/NoKingsTop.jpg CATEGORIES:college,Teen,Kids,Culture,Education,History,Civic Affairs,Performance,----WRITERS----,Outdoors,Music: Popular,Politics,Preview,Free,RSS,Claudia Taller END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20260308T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR