No Kings

O hope and faith! O aching close of lives! O

many a sickened heart!

Turn back unto this day and make yourselves

afresh.

And you, paid to defile the People! You liars,

Mark!

- Walt Whitman in Leaves of Grass

I think Whitman would have loved this, the “No Kings” rallies around the country on June 14^(th).!

The event we went to was skated to start at 1:00, but by 12:30 there were about 1,000 people lining the street. By the official start, people lined the street for over two miles, and it was estimated maybe 4,000 were there.

Whatever your politics, you have to acknowledge that these  people, and countless others around the country, wee there to proclaim the brilliance of democracy, assert the voice of The People.

And so many of the participants were young people, enthusiastic, leading cheers and chants.

My motivation for attending the No Kings rally stems from another poem:

My treasured friends,
There is no question that
your multiracial nation, America,
represents humanity’s future.
Your land holds secret stores
of unbounded possibility, transforming
the energy of different cultures
into the unity of construction,
the flames of conflict
into the light of solidarity,
the eroding rivulets of mistrust
into a great broad flow of confidence.

The Sun of Jiyu Over  New Land

 Of course the myriad participants were unaware if Daisaku Ikeda’s vision and hopes for America. But they are part of it. And it’s clear: people are open to what Buddhis teaches about the great treasures of life and diversity.