A few weeks ago, buzz arose about a new No Kings event June 14. With such short notice? Another “No Kings”?
Soon enough, the type of event was clarified: No nationwide street protest in the manner of the three prior No Kings demonstrations is planned for June 14.
But — there’s a party going on. A party inspired by some movie stars of the 1940s.
The Committee for the First Amendment was originally formed in 1947 by Hollywood professionals to protest the decidely un-American actions of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), which sought to vet out Communists and their sympathizers for blacklisting in their industry. Eventually, those opposed to HUAC won the messaging war. The likes of HUAC and Sen. Joseph McCarthy (who, though not in HUAC, gave the name “McCarthyism” to this particular abuse of government) have gone down in history as bad examples to follow.
The Committee for the First Amendment was revived in 2025 by actress Jane Fonda, daughter of one of the organization’s original members, Henry Fonda. In their new iteration, they lead and host Rise Up, Sing Out, a nationwide, all-star concert event to be livestreamed June 14. In partnership with Indivisible — who perhaps confused the branding of this thing by promoting it on the NoKings.org website complete with “No Kings” logos on the graphics for it — they’re pushing attendance through watch party events as an opportunity to “sing along, make art, share food, connect with neighbors, and take meaningful action together.”
What do you think of events like this with a form of visibility that’s different from traditional street picketing and marches? We’ve discussed the self-care value of fun and celebration before in Our Voices. Is it possible that all of our major demonstrations are primarily internal community builders, with winning the war of external messaging as more of a long game goal?
Tim Bailey
COIN Leadership Team & Indivisible Cedar Mill / Portland
[This topic] preceded Robert Reich’s (from Inequality Media) today by a few minutes… He wrote:
“ You and I both know the stakes in this fall’s midterm elections, and if we don’t win the messaging war on social media, that could cost Democrats the entire election.
“That’s what worries me. Because right now, Republicans are running circles around Democrats on the social media platforms where more and more Americans are getting their news.
“Case in point: Fox News’ TikTok account has exploded from around 500,000 followers on Election Day 2024 to nearly 11 million today. More than half of 18- to 29-year-olds now rely on TikTok as a primary source of news, so that’s a huge problem.
“Conservatives are also dominating on YouTube, where 64 of the top 100 largest political channels lean right, and it’s the same story on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Spotify.
“But we have a plan to fight back.”
So, strategies are underway.My take, which always breaks the rule: “If you don’t have something nice to say, then don’t say anything”:
I have been tracking media bias since college (Fox) along with propaganda in history narratives, along with rise of neo-cons —> Libertarians —> Tea Party —> MAGA, along with dark money and the various concerted efforts by the owning class, reactionaries to corrupt our civil society.
Reason & Values based messaging (misnomered “liberal media”) has been happening for a long time. Granted, it has done so with limited success because it is complex and nuanced.
The issue is that the general public lacks:
- the energy,
- the curiosity,
- the requisite knowledge,
- the empathy, etc.
…to be capable of processing it.
They are wed to indoctrinated delusions of “rugged individualism”, the amerikan dream, meritocracy, manifest destiny, exceptionalism, the prosperity doctrine, get rich quick schemes, binaries, etc…
With the majority (>50%), trapped in survival mode in our disgracefully unequal and brutal socio-economic culture.When “we” talk about messaging, is it just about putting a finger in one of the holes in the dam (which is crumbling) or is it about the longer vision of a world worth living in as humans?
Trump and sycophants are succeeding in bringing down their polling numbers.
The real challenge is building a vision that draws people in and inspires them to change their indoctrinated delusions. Not confident humans are capable of such a change. Like the proverbial drug addict that has to hit rock bottom (which I thought we hit in the first Trump admin), extreme measures become viable, but will the addict stay the course? The American addicts have overtly and passively determined the Constitution, the New Deal, the Civil Rights victories are not worth committing to, instead choosing delusions and dollars (pennies for the masses).
Finally, simplified/ dumbed down messaging is what will reach broader audiences, but it will only perpetuate the cycle.
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