I grew up in a military family and lived on military bases around the world for most of my childhood. My father was an officer in the Air Force, and my mother worked for the Department of Defense Dependent school system. Being part of a military family shaped how I see the role of patriotism. 

Proclaiming nationalism as the reasoning for a belief that benefits an individual personally is not patriotism. Too often, those who claim to be patriots fail to set a true example of what America means. They see America through a lens of personal entitlement rather than of public obligation. The No Kings protest movement grew out of the increasing authoritarian tendencies of the Trump administration and the erosion of the checks and balances of power that serve as guardrails for our democratic society.  

In Jewish tradition, we learn about the danger of authoritarians in Yalkut Shemoni (Genesis 1:13) a medieval collection of midrash: 

When God formed human beings out of the earth, God didn’t just gather dust from one place to make them. Instead, God took dust from all four corners of the earth, near and far, and God took dust of many colors, red, green, yellow, both light and dark colors. When asked why all these different dusts were needed to form human beings, God responded, so that when one person meets another person, the second cannot say to the first, “This place is not your place, you were not created from it. Go back to the place that you were created from.” Instead, every person can walk from place to place and know that they belong. 

Timothy Snyder, the author of On Tyranny who writes about the inherent danger of authoritarianism and of this moment in American history, said that setting a good example of what America means is critical for the next generation. For Jen and I as parents, that means teaching our children our sense of collective obligation.  In our home, we do that in various ways, including showing up as a family to protest in moments that require us to lift our voices. 

A few years ago, when I was leaving to knock on doors for a local candidate, our youngest daughter, Kol, asked if she could join me. She was a shy child and had often been hesitant to accompany me in these moments. When I asked her why, she responded with deep wisdom, “I know you like to be at home with us, so when you leave, I know it must be important for me to see that you are doing it.” 

Children are always observing the world. They see what is important, not based on what we say, but what we do.  That is why proclaiming patriotism is not enough; we need to act.   

The upcoming No Kings protest movement is just such a moment.  The next generation needs to see that no one is told to “go back to the place that they were created from” but instead that “they belong.”  We need to be people who, as the midrash reminds us, see all the different dusts required to create humanity and to ensure that democracy thrives.  

They need us to act with a sense of obligation to the other, rather than with a sense of personal entitlement. And most importantly, they need to see that we believe in the promise of what America means, so that they can continue the legacy of our nation as a place with no kings.  

Rabbi James Greene is the Chief Executive Officer of Jewish Family Service of Western MA, a human service agency based in Springfield, MA that serves thousands of clients each year, including many refugees and immigrants. He is a 2008 graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and the immediate past president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association.