'No Kings' Protests Are the Last Test of Democracy. Citizens Must Do their Duty.

For decades, both major parties slowly abandoned any notion of civic obligation. Politics became transactional. Campaigns were reduced to competing offers.

Hundreds of people gather on the steps of the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on Feb. 5, 2025, to protest actions taken by President Donald Trump during his first two weeks in office. | Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance

For generations, we’ve spoken of America as a land of opportunity. We’ve defined ourselves by liberty, enshrined freedom in foundin…