While the first Saturday after school lets out for the summer is typically memorable for parents, teachers, and students alike, this June 14th marked something more: ‘No Kings Day’. From 12 to 2 p.m., hundreds of peaceful protesters lined both sides of Adams Street, from 2nd all the way up to 5th Street, in downtown McMinnville, Oregon, filling the air with honking car horns and energized chants.

So, what is ‘No Kings Day’? It’s a national day of protest that coincides with President Trump’s birthday, the Washington, D.C. military parade, and the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. Demonstrations across the country aimed to highlight what citizens perceive as authoritarian overreach by Trump and his administration.

Locally, the event drew a diverse crowd that gathered between the McMinnville library and the new First Federal building. From young children to grandparents, the turnout often felt more like a community celebration, or a party, than a protest. Many parents brought their kids, making the day as much about unity as it was about dissent.

By my own estimation, after walking up and down both sides of the street, about 400 people attended the Mac demonstration to give autocracy the ol’ thumbs-down. Of course, there was also a steady stream of drive-by declarations of loyalty shouted from trucks and Hyundais (that had seen better days) in support of the President and his policies. But, these amounted a fart in the wind in comparison to the energy the crowd had when a car rolled through, horn blaring in support of the protest.

Whether you drove by to support the President or stood in protest against policies you believe betray American values, today was about one of the few bipartisan joys left that truly makes America great: the right to disagree in public. And if that’s not worth assembling for, preferably before the heat of the day and near convenient parking, then I don’t know what is.

-Andrew Brunello