But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, “No! We are determined to have a king over us, so that we also may be like other nations and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.” When Samuel heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice and set a king over them.” Samuel then said to the Israelites, “Each of you return home.”
1 Samuel 8: 19-22 NRSVue
There will be more "No Kings" protests across the United States today -- as many as 2500 -- and while I certainly support the premise the title is something of a misnomer. Most of the monarchs in the world today are ceremonial figures and here in Canada our king, Charles III, is not really the head of what was once a colony of the global British Empire. An exception is Saudi Arabia where kings and princes are tyrants, and Trumpian tyranny is what is being opposed in America.
The protests uphold the First Amendment to the US Constitution that prohibits any law limiting freedom with respect to religion, expression, peaceful assembly, or the right of citizens to petition the government. They will also push back against the Trump Republican administration's draconian immigration enforcement. Here in Canada we have seen masked ICE henchman hauling away people without warrants or legal recourse and the National Guard has been ordered into Democratic cities on flimsy pretexts.
What we are witnessing from our vantage point here in the 51st State (never!) is an unprecedented abuse of the Constitution and of presidential power. Yet Trump is supported by millions and amongst his staunchest minions are evangelical Christians, many of whom appear to worship him rather than Jesus. There are sickening kitsch images of Jesus with his benevolent arm wrapped around a beatific Trump.
Conservative Christians jump through hoops to find obscure scripture passages to justify what is unfolding and steadfastly ignore the teachings of Jesus, the witness of the New Testament letters, and verses in the Hebrew scriptures about compassion for the widows and orphans and strangers in their midst.
I have never heard any of them quote the story from 1 Samuel where the prophet is instructed by God to warn the people of Israel against choosing a king like neighbouring nations. Eventually God acquieses but the tone is that this will not turn out well. This passage is an "inconvenient truth" for those who claim to take the bible literally.
Today thousands of prophetic voices will be raised in what is supposed to be the greatest democracy in the world, one whiich overthrew British rule nearly 250 years ago.
So much for the musical Hamilton. So much for the prophets of scripture and Jesus. God keep the protestors safe today. In this disturbing political climate anything might happen.
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