Light at the End of the Tunnel?
All indications say "YES!"
There’s a LOT to be worried about for the next 3-1/2 years, where Donald Trump and his obedient MAGA party of enablers in Congress will likely continue to abdicate their Constitutional duty and give him carte blanche to further consolidate power and take a wrecking ball to our civil rights, our institutions, our economy, the rule of law, our standing in the world, and our very sense of humanity…all the while politicizing virtually every aspect our culture and our lives. And if this “Big Beautiful Bill” gets passed, our country will be fundamentally changed, and definitely for the worse…unless you are one of wealthy elite.
But after attending the “No Kings” Protest in Philadelphia, and seeing the images from the thousands of other protests across the country - even in the ‘rubiest’ of ruby red states - I see light at the end of the tunnel. Especially when compared to the sad, low-energy vibe at Trump’s “Wannabe Just Like Kim Jong Un in North Korea” parade in Washington DC the same day. I mean, just look at this video clip. Our honorable and brave military deserve better than this!
In comparison, I will sprinkle my photos and videos from the No Kings protest within the rest of this piece - starting with one with me and the brilliant historian and author of “On Tyranny,” Timothy Snyder, who I ran into in the crowd!
As you’ll see (especially in the below videos), there was a palpable high energy fueled by rage at the Trump administration’s cruel, inhumane, unAmerican, and often inept policies…but as like-minded patriotic Americans came together in the City of Philadelphia where it all started, to exercise our Constitutional right to free speech and assembly, it manifested into a lovefest of brotherly and sisterly love, joy, and resolve.
And let’s be clear - yes, Trump won the election in 2024, but his support has significantly waned since then, according to pretty much all the polls coming out in the last month or two, and now there are more of us than there are of those who still support him, and for good reason, given how he has broken almost every campaign promise, using his usual cultural flashpoints as a distraction to sew division.
Just check out these devasting poll responses in the latest Quinnipiac poll released June 11, 2025.…HERE’S THE FULL POLL, and below are some low-lights:
He hasn’t lowered costs, in fact his policies have increased prices.
New wars are breaking out, like Israel and Iran, which further illustrates that Trump is NO dealmaker; that’s just a part he played on TV.
His cruel and inhumane deportation policy is truly appalling to most Americans, even to many of those who generally support deporting criminals. All presidents have deported criminals, as they should, but they largely don’t support raiding Home Depots, restaurants, strawberry fields, and homes to forcibly rip apart families and remove hard-working mothers, fathers, and children who have been here for many years who are working and paying taxes.
So, despite the loudest MAGA influencers who you may see on right-wing podcasts and social media defending Trump’s every move with increasingly ludicrous rationalizations…and even conspiracy theory-driven lies, there is INDEED a significant crack in the armor that should give hope to those of us who don’t want to live in a country where free speech and dissent is criminalized, where political violence is encouraged, where the government is run by billionaires hell-bent on transferring every last dollar from the poor and middle class to the wealthy elite class, and where government officials are the wholly unqualified “DEI” hires from Fox “News” and other entertainment groups that MAGA has systematically but falsely projected onto Democrats.
Let’s keep showing up and letting our voices heard, until we, as a patriotic nation, come together and get past this ugly, unAmerican blip in what I hope to be a prosperous future for EVERYONE.
