We the People Have No King

5 Ways Friends Can Preserve Democracy

The Bible makes it clear that it was not God’s intention that people be ruled by a king. According to 1 Samuel 8:19–21, the Israelites went to Samuel (a judge, soon to become a prophet) asking for a king so they could be like other nations. Samuel warned them of the dire consequences of having a king rule over them (such as war, exploitation, excessive taxation), but the people insisted, and God reluctantly granted their request. For the next 600 years, the Israelites were ruled mostly by bad kings, which finally culminated in the destruction of Israel and the Babylonian captivity. God also sent prophets to hold kings accountable, to remind them to show mercy, to practice justice, and to be faithful to God’s commandments—especially to care for the poor and immigrants. That has been the role of prophets to this day.

Prophets are needed now more than ever. We are living at a time when 49.8 percent of Americans voted for a would-be king: a man who said he would be a dictator on day one, if elected, and who seems intent on ruling like an autocrat. On February 19, 2025, he even posted about himself on Truth Social: “LONG LIVE THE KING!” This message was reinforced when the White House recirculated it on Instagram and X with an illustration of Trump wearing a crown on a cover resembling Time magazine. The founders of our nation, who risked their lives to oppose kings and tyranny, must be rolling over in their graves!

Trump has made his autocratic intentions clear in his tumultuous first 100 days. He is aggressively seeking to take control of schools, universities, and the media and to crush any form of dissent. He has attacked our legal system, ignored the Supreme Court, and cowed many major law firms into doing his bidding. He is sending people to an inhumane prison in El Salvador without due process or a trial. On the streets, masked ICE agents are arresting legal immigrants for expressing their political views. He has gutted foreign aid, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and virtually every social program. He proposes cutting non-military spending by 23 percent while increasing military spending by 13 percent and Homeland Security by 65 percent. He has allowed the world’s richest man and his technocrats access to our personal data and is weaponizing the Internal Revenue Service. He recently held an immense-but-poorly-attended military parade in Washington, D.C., on June 14 to commemorate his birthday. That’s just in the first 100 days!

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As Quakers and as people of faith, we need a vision for the kind of future we seek, and we need a plan for making this vision a reality. The crucial question for us at this critical time is: What is our vision, and how can we come together to realize it?

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Six million people took the street across our nation to protest on “No Kings Day,” including over 30 young adult Friends from my meeting, who held a meeting for worship in front of the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles. Tragically, while peacefully photographing this demonstration, Marshall Woodruff, one of these young Friends, was shot with a rubber bullet by the Los Angeles Police Department and lost the use of his right eye. He was interviewed by CBS News and gave a powerful testimony to his Quaker values from his hospital bed.

These are perilous times, and North Pacific Yearly Meeting has recognized the need to be prophetic, with these compelling words: “We are called to live in the brave faith that our prophetic voice is the most powerful force available to us in our times.”

What can we do as Quakers individually and collectively to be a prophetic voice for our times? First, it is important to stay grounded in the Spirit and build a community of love and trust so we can weather these trying times together. It is also important to be kind and stay in dialogue with those with whom we disagree. But I feel we are called to do more: to stay true to our Quaker DNA and to be bold and prophetic. Just as early Quakers spoke truth to those in power—even if it meant facing prison—we as heirs to that prophetic tradition need to be willing to speak truth to those in power today. 

Here are some ways we can demonstrate a brave faith: 

1. Support our Quaker organizations like America Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and Friends Committee for National Legislation (FCNL). Elected officials in Washington, D.C., who reflect our Quaker values feel beleaguered right now. They appreciate hearing from constituents who support their efforts to preserve our democracy and social programs that meet critical human needs. They especially want to hear our stories about how the president’s decrees are affecting us. We are fortunate to have a powerful Quaker voice on Capitol Hill. FCNL makes it super easy to write to our elected officials simply by going to fcnl.org/act.

2. Support progressive organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) that are defending our constitutional and legal rights in the courts. They are our best defense until voters choose candidates who support democracy. 

3. Support progressive leaders who are launching a “fight the oligarchs” campaign. Rallies are what galvanized the Make America Great Again movement. When I go to rallies and see thousands of like-minded protesters, I feel a surge of hope, and I strongly suspect that those in power feel uneasy (though they are loathe to admit it). Tesla profits dropped 71 percent in the first quarter of 2025, in large part because of protests. The documentary The Movement and the “Madman,” executive produced by Quaker Robert Levering, shows that when millions protested in 1969, President Nixon gave up his plan to use nuclear weapons to subdue North Vietnam. In the website for the Commons Social Change Library, Friend George Lakey has documented 40 cases in which mass movements have toppled dictatorships nonviolently. Those in power want us to feel we are powerless, but when we the people are united, we can overcome. Si, se puede! 

4. Stand in solidarity with those who are under attack: the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, the disabled, federal workers, and People of Color. At Orange Grove (Calif.) Meeting, we held a meeting to support federal workers attended by our congressional representative Judy Chu, who called for us to “legislate, litigate and activate.” We are exploring ways we can support undocumented immigrants who live in the neighborhood where our meetinghouse is located. We are giving away red “Know Your Rights” cards in Spanish and English, which help migrants know how to respond if accosted by immigration ICE agents. These cards have been well-received. 

5. Choose to be joyful. Sing; dance; rejoice, even if you feel discouraged or depressed! Freedom songs helped empower people during the Civil Rights Movement and the antiwar movements of the 1960s. During a recent rally of 36,000 people in Los Angeles, my heart leapt for joy when Joan Baez and Neil Diamond sang for us. Choosing to be joyful is also a spiritual practice, as the apostle James makes clear:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:2–4, New International Version). 

If we so choose, it can be pure joy to put our faith into practice! Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of the struggle for a new world being long and bitter but also beautiful! Most of us cannot do all these things, but each of us can do something. Let’s ask ourselves: What is Spirit leading me to do? And what is Spirit leading us to do collectively? 

To act collectively and effectively, we need a vision. The far-right movement has a vision, embodied in Project 2025, and they also have a plan to implement their vision. That’s why they are effective. As Quakers and as people of faith, we need a vision for the kind of future we seek, and we need a plan for making this vision a reality. The Bible says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). The crucial question for us at this critical time is: What is our vision, and how can we come together to realize it?

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Correction: We have corrected a typo in the third paragraph, which now correctly reads “masked ICE agents.”