Injustice is in front of our eyes. Immigrants are seized after arriving at appointments to comply with immigration rules. They are kidnapped at workplaces and schools, without warrants. Some are children. As protests have swelled, the Trump administration has enflamed confrontations by ordering thousands of National Guard and hundreds of U.S. Marines to Los Angeles. Despite overwhelmingly peaceful demonstrations, every burned car provides the visuals the autocrats want. 

The autocrats have been working overtime to purge staff and freeze funding, to add hundreds of billions to fund more ICE kidnappings, to slash Medicaid, SNAP food assistance, education, and green energy and jobs, and to further enrich the wealthy with trillions in tax breaks. This is not popular. Repeated polls show substantial majorities of Americans support Medicaid and SNAP. They don’t want basic needs programs to be cut in order to shovel more tax breaks to rich people. Senator Jim Justice (R-WV), formerly governor of his state, predicted in Politico that outrage over cuts to SNAP that would be forced by the House budget bill’s large shift of costs to states would result in Republicans losing their majorities in Congress. “‘If we don’t watch out, people are going to get hurt, people are going to be upset. It’s going to be the No.1 thing on the nightly news all over the place,’ Justice said in an interview Tuesday. ‘And then, we could very well awaken to a situation in this country where the majority quickly becomes the minority.’” 

So – autocrats know it’s time for a distraction. Ratchet up the militaristic confrontations until you get those cars in flames on television. Not enough real flames? Extremist allies can always post false images. While that’s on our screens, Congress will try to hammer out the deal to hand those giant tax breaks to the wealthy and add billions to the anti-immigrant enforcement machine, while slashing basic needs programs. Maybe we won’t notice. 

But people of conscience must notice, and must be seen and heard. This is what is thrust upon us: we have to stand up against the dangerous bullying tactics that are tearing families and communities apart and subverting our democracy. And we must also continue to tell Congress that a big brutal budget bill that denies health coverage and food assistance to millions of people, that threatens public education, and funds military force to threaten our own communities is a bill that must be rejected. 

That is why CHN Action has joined with Indivisible and many, many organizations to turn out for NO KINGS day – this Saturday, June 14, in about 2,000 locations around the country. I’ll be there in my community; you can find the NO KINGS day demo near you here. 

You know this: defense of our democracy and protecting basic needs programs is not a one day thing. There will be more demonstrations and rallies. We’ll need to call our members of Congress repeatedly (use the Capitol switchboard to be connected to your rep and senators: 202-224-3121). We need to send emails to them, too; here’s one opposing Medicaid and SNAP cuts; here’s another opposing ICE raids and military escalation against protestors.

Remember the old term, tinpot dictator? It’s an apt image: one would-be dictator using a big expensive military parade on his birthday as his tinpot, loudly clanging. This Saturday, in Los Angeles and around our nation, the would-be dictator is misusing the military in shameful ways. 

We must not be distracted by the loud clanging. Our voices, peacefully in the streets and in our determined calls to Congress, will be heard. For as long as it takes.