No Kings - A rally speech

We Are Americans

My name is Floyd Thompkins. I’m the pastor of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, and I’ve come today to talk with you about the moral moment we are in. Democracy is not something stagnant. We have to fight for it. We have to stand for it. We have to believe in it.

What evil counts on is that we will get tired—tired of fighting, tired of standing, tired of speaking the truth. But here is the truth: evil looks like it is going to win, until it doesn’t. We will see the day when this administration passes away. But we do not want simply to wait for that day. We want to bring that day closer.

That’s why we’re here. We want to see the change happen now. No kings now. No kings now.

We are standing here because we need your hands, your hearts, your presence. It is wonderful to see all these people, but there have to be many more, because this rally is not just about what happens in this moment. It is about the people of this moment going back to your neighborhoods, going everywhere you can, and saying to your neighbors and your friends: we are democracy. And it does not matter if you are a Republican; it does not matter if you are a Democrat.

Right is right and wrong is wrong. And this is wrong. It’s wrong to declare war without Congress. It’s wrong to send our siblings, our brothers, our sisters, and our children to a war, to a land we never wanted. That’s just wrong. 

Say it with me: that’s just wrong. It is wrong.

It is wrong to have a group of people who go around, because of the color of someone’s skin, because they “don’t look right,” because they don’t look like they belong to this country, and do nothing but cruelty to them. What is that? That’s not American values. That’s not who we are. We’re better than that. 

That’s just wrong. ICE is wrong. ICE is wrong. ICE is wrong.

So this is not about what party you belong to. It is about what we will do to stand up for what is right.

And finally, there are those who will sit around and tell you, “Just be quiet. This is not the moment to stand.” But let me tell you something: if you do not stand now, when are you going to stand? If you do not believe now, when are you going to believe? This is a moment. This is a time. This is the time when democracy becomes democracy—or it is nothing more than a fantasy.

We live in America.

And here is the last thing I always want people to do. There are people around this nation who say that we Californians are not real Americans, that those of us who believe in a liberal agenda are not real Americans. 

So we like to make sure we put this on camera: “We are Americans.” Come on. We are American. Oh, you all can say it: “We are American.” This is what America looks like.

Standing up—protest—is American. Believing in something is American. Voting is American. We are American. We are American. This is what America looks like. Look around you. That is what America looks like. And we believe that we are Americans.

So come on out. Continue to stand. Continue to march. Continue to bring others with you. Because when today’s news is reported, we want them to say: Americans stood up for Americans. People stood up because it was right.

And we will not allow one man with bone spurs, a man that cannot even run a business well—one man who was elected in a strange and twisted way, to define America. We will tell people to look around at the millions who stand together and say, “ No Kings! Because we are Americans.”

God bless you.