Bill Bumgarner is a retired former health care executive from northwest Iowa who worked
in hospital management for 41 years, mostly in the state of Iowa.

In my reading over the last couple of weeks, I came upon the following dialogue that someone referenced from Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises.

“How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked.

“Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually and then suddenly.”

That exchange came back to me as I participated in a No Kings gathering in Spirit Lake, Iowa on October 18.

The event I attended was similar to what’s been described in the media about gatherings across the nation. There was a cross section of people in attendance, yet it skewed a bit older in Spirit Lake. Not surprising for a small rural community.

Another view of No Kings in Spirit Lake (photo by Julie Gammack)

I’d estimate a crowd in the ballpark of 125 people. Yet, that was in a deep “red” county where more than 69 percent of the folks voted for Donald Trump last November. That’s a successful event.

And it was important.

It will take time to defeat Trump and the MAGA movement. There are already signs of weakness, as approval for the president’s performance and policy positions decline. A massive, and largely praised, resistance event draws attention. This one was estimated at 7 million strong across the country. That’s a loud national statement.

Many good people don’t like what they’re witnessing from the Trump administration. But they’re reluctant to express their feelings. They fear it may threaten relationships in their social circle, at work, at church, and even at home.

The No Kings national movement will help some of the more thoughtful people begin to find their courage. Not suddenly, but gradually.

It reminds me of the Vietnam era. When kids took to the streets to protest the war, they were initially criticized. Many of their parents did not approve. But their persistence helped change minds—even among their parents. Not suddenly, but gradually.

There are lessons to be drawn from that earlier time. There will be good days—like this past Saturday—and bad days, when Trump and his acolytes strain the bounds of legality and decency yet again. But we must persist.

We will take back our democracy. Not suddenly, but gradually.