Paul Kengor: Teaching 'No Kings' nonsense

I would prefer to ignore the No Kings movement. I wrote about it back in June and received emails from No Kings advocates oddly taking umbrage with my obviously correct assertion that Donald Trump is, of course, not a king. Trump could be called lots of things. He has been denounced as everything from a narcissist to an idiot to a bigot. Those are subject terms, whereas “king” is not. And obviously, Trump isn’t a king. An elementary school student could tell you that.

Or maybe not. Not if the American Federation of Teachers is doing the educating.

Yes, the American Federation of Teachers. More on that in a moment.

As I said, I’d like to ignore the No Kings nonsense. But alas, my email box has been deluged with blasts from No Kings organizers pitching me as a writer and an editor.

“Hi there, Paul​!” began a typical email. “Reaching out to let you know about the next No Kings action tomorrow on October 18! As the president escalates his authoritarian power grab, the No Kings nonviolent movement continues to rise stronger. We are united once again to remind the world: America has No Kings.” The pitch concluded: “I have several spokespeople I can get you in touch with. … Let me know if you’re interested in an interview about the No Kings movement.”

For you No Kings defenders angry that I’m writing about this, well, blame your communications people. They won’t stop emailing me!

It was from these emails that I learned of the role of the American Federation of Teachers in this movement. To quote: “Groups organizing the No Kings peaceful protests across the country include ACLU, American Federation of Teachers, Common Defense, 50501, Indivisible, League of Conservation Voters, MoveOn, National Nurses United, Public Citizen, SEIU … .”

Hmm. I expected to see the ACLU, MoveOn and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), a government union whose workers are being told their boss is a monarch.

But a teachers union? That’s disturbing. I would think that public-school teachers — that is, those educating our children — would know enough basic civics and history to know that the American president, regardless of his flaws, is certainly not a king.

As I said in my column a few months ago, one could argue in circles about, say, how to best define “democracy” and whether Trump is somehow unilaterally destroying it. The “king” claim, however, is patently ludicrous on its face. Even if Donald Trump wanted to be king, our Constitution’s system of separation of powers and checks and balances would stop him.

As the American Federation of Teachers knows, Trump can’t even abolish the Department of Education. Our Legislature holds veto power over the chief executive.

The AFT surely knows this. And yet, the organization is engaging in nasty hyperbole and polarization in our already toxic political environment. Its website the morning of the No Kings rallies was filled with incendiary language on “Why fascists fear teachers” and “No crowns, no thrones, no kings” (a triple whopper, as Trump not only isn’t a king but has no crown nor throne).

The AFT should be teaching kids what words like “monarch” and “fascist” really mean.

The AFT’s ignorance wouldn’t be so harmful if possessed by, say, National Nurses United, which provides healthcare rather than education. But for an organization representing those who educate our children, it’s very concerning.