There’s nothing quite like the classic middle finger to send a clear message. However, for it to be effective, the gesture should be a response to a specific action. Using the middle finger in public just to express general unhappiness or anger is pointless; it needs to be directed at something more precise.

The 1963 March on Washington, which was attended by an estimated 250,000 people, protested for the civil and economic rights of African Americans and marked the beginning of a successful civil rights movement. The 1964 demonstration in Selma, Alabama, focused on advocating for voting rights. In October 1969, millions participated in demonstrations across cities and towns nationwide against the Vietnam War. In 2013, public protests erupted both domestically and internationally when President Obama threatened military intervention in Syria. These movements were successful because the messages were clear and resonated with many people.

The message sent by No Kings Day is, at best, contradictory. Unless I’m mistaken, Trump was democratically elected. So, what is the intended message? Is this simply a kinder, more peaceful, and inclusive version of January 6th? My point is that there are many pressing issues to address, and it would be beneficial for all protesters if specific concerns could be articulated more clearly, without the influence of Trump Derangement Syndrome. Despair and calls for retribution over losing an election must end because peaceful transitions of the Washington corruption is a fundamental part of our flawed democratic process.

Across the country, there were signs highlighting real issues, but they were overshadowed by a sea of sloganistic chants. It’s hard to take a ‘massive nationwide’ protest seriously when the most common chants are ‘No kings in America’ and ‘This is what democracy looks like.’ Given what the democratic process has produced over the past several decades, one might argue that a moralist monarch would be preferable.

The social capital generated by Sunday’s demonstration was squandered. We the people must resist our sheeplike tendencies. Most shepherd are not going to lead our nation to greener pastures; many are wolves in disguise, promoting different factions, something the Founding Fathers warned against. James Madison, in Federalist Paper No. 10, stated that a healthy Union must “break and control the violence of faction.” Similarly, Hamilton referred to political factions as “the most fatal disease” of popular governments.

Can we focus and pool our resources around a select few issues? Party politics have divided us, but uniting our efforts may change the direction of our spiral. Let’s choose a few rallying causes from the following list: federal troops in our streets, ICE’s storm-trooper tactics, inflation, the genocide in Gaza, an Israel 1st policy, the Ukraine war, the Charlie Kirk assassination conspiracy, the vanishing middle class, affordable housing, oligarch influence, the War Department budget, NATO, Congress’s subservience to lobbyists, and the killing of Venezuelan citizens in open seas. Any one of these issues deserves more attention than politicking that benefit of the other corrupted faction. No matter what fool accents to the top of the heap, they ultimately serve their donors and the entrenched sociopaths in the security state.