By Peggy Jones
On Flag Day, a group gathered in Lovelock with signs and American flags.
There weren’t many of us, just neighbors who believe that love of country includes the courage to question it.
We stood on Main and Cornell near Lovelock’s only traffic light holding signs that read NO KINGS, SUPPORT LGBTQ+ PEOPLE and RESIST CRUELTY.
A few Australian firefighters attending a convention in Nevada stopped to offer their support. Some passersby honked or gave a thumbs-up, while others expressed displeasure.
That’s what patriotism looks like, not shouting, not silencing others, and not demanding conformity. It means standing for your values, even when it’s unpopular.
On June 15, the president posted a chilling message on Truth Social, a complete reversal of what he’d said just days earlier.
Three days before, on June 12, he’d written, “We must protect our farmers,” admitting that “aggressive policy on immigration” was taking away long-time workers from farms and hotels, “jobs being almost impossible to replace.”
Makes sense. About 40% of U.S. farmworkers are undocumented, according to a 2022 USDA report, and about 75% of California farmworkers are undocumented, according to UC Merced.
The state produces over one-third of all U.S. vegetables and over 75% of all fruit and nuts consumed nationwide.
However, any concern for our food supply evaporated when the president’s parade flopped, and protests made him feel vulnerable.
These massive protests, estimated at over 5 million Americans, or about 1 in 64, swept over 2,100 cities on No Kings Day.
That’s halfway to the 3.5% threshold political scientist Erica Chenoweth identifies as the tipping point for nonviolent change.
Then the president reversed course and ordered ICE agents to resume full-scale raids, even in industries he’d just vowed to spare. In Trump’s world, no promise survives a tantrum.
He directed ICE officers to “do all in their power” to carry out the “largest Mass Deportation Operation in history,” specifically targeting “Democrat power centers” like Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago.
He didn’t focus on safety. He focused on punishing cities that voted against him.
Those cities aren’t just population hubs. They bankroll much of the country. California, New York, and Illinois are donor states, meaning they pay more federal taxes than they receive.
Undermining their economies could weaken national programs and impact other states.
That intensity echoed in Los Angeles when Secretary Kristi Noem stood behind a podium and declared:
“We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialist and burdensome leadership that this governor and this mayor have placed on this country.”
It was a chilling moment that echoed authoritarian regimes more than 21st-century America.
California Senator Alex Padilla couldn’t stay silent. He raised his hand, identified himself, and asked, “Madame Secretary, why do you keep exaggerating?”
Before he could finish, federal agents handcuffed him and dragged him out.
He wasn’t a threat to public safety. He was a threat to political power, and that’s what this administration protects. It’s not about justice. It’s about control.
Then came the shooting in Minnesota.
On June 14, an attacker disguised as a police officer opened fire on elected officials and their families. He killed Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and seriously wounded State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.
He also shot the Hortmans’ golden retriever. The injuries were so severe that their adult children had him euthanized.
This is where violent rhetoric leads. This is what happens when a president calls his opponents “sick,” “scum,” “traitors,” or “enemies of the state.”
The line between political theater and political violence vanishes.
Which brings us back to patriotism.
Patriotism is not the same as nationalism. Patriotism is a love of country that includes the willingness to challenge it.
It means believing in freedom, equality, and justice and pushing your country to live up to them.
Nationalism, in contrast, demands blind allegiance. It says, “Love it or leave it.” It treats questions as betrayal and dissent as a threat.
That’s why we stood in Lovelock. Not to insult America, but to defend what’s best about it. Because what Trump is offering isn’t patriotic. It’s authoritarian.
This isn’t about politics anymore. It’s about whether we’ll accept a future where only the obedient are safe.
We can’t all fight in New York or Los Angeles. But even in a small town, on a hot summer day, with a few hand-painted signs and a lot of conviction, we can still say something that matters.
No kings. No tyrants. No cruelty in our name.
Peggy Jones can be contacted at pj421847@gmail.com.