Today, the day before the 4th of July, seems like a very good day to talk about the June 14 No Kings Protests.  Although I am a supporter of the No Kings and 50501 movements, I was not able to be a part of the protests.  But I was praying for those who were and sending out supportive vibes.

Fortunately, the protests came to me.  Cumberland Gap National Historical Park had a group of protesters in our first amendment area.  The park has a designated area for Jehovah’s witnesses, protesters, Mormons.  Anyone can say anything they want as long as they stick to the first amendment area.  You don’t need a permit if there are just three or four people.  The organizer of the No Kings protest applied for, and received, a permit because she expected to have more than 25 people.

About 50 people showed up for the No Kings rally at Cumberland Gap.  They let us know that they were not there to protest the park.  In fact, they were supporting the park and its employees by protesting Trump’s hiring freeze, reduction in budget, and proposed sell-off for the National Parks.

The people who came out to join the No Kings protest at Cumberland Gap were peaceful and respectful.  We had one law enforcement ranger who kept an eye on them, but he mostly hung out in the shade.  They had a bullhorn and an airhorn and did plenty of chanting and a little bit of shouting, but they did not deter our visitors from coming in.  The first amendment area is far enough away from the building that people could talk to them or avoid them as they chose. The protesters stayed about two hours, then they packed up their signs and headed home.

The Middlesboro protest was one of the smaller No Kings protests, but I was pleased with the number of people who showed up.  This area is deep red – 75% of the people in the three county area voted for Trump.  Coming out to protest was a courageous move on the part of these folks.  Showing their support for the parks was appreciated by all the park employees, even if we were not able to show our support in return.

I especially appreciated the timing of the No Kings protests.  Just that week, we had been required to post signs inviting criticism of the National Parks’ interpretations of history.  Under the guise of “restoring truth and sanity to American history.”  Ha!  Trump seems intrinsically unable to recognize truth or sanity.

Over five million people joined the No Kings protests on June 14 all over the United States.  They showed up in the big cities, but also in the small towns in deep red states.  It was the most hopeful thing I have seen since Trump was elected.