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If you missed the “No Kings” rallies in our little Western North Carolina towns, there likely will be more for you to see and even participate in over the next few months, perhaps years.

More you say? Why? Because a single rally isn’t going to convince some people that America doesn’t want or need a king. Conditions will likely worsen before change occurs, but make no mistake. Change will occur.

For me, last weekend was an opportunity to do what I have done virtually all of my life, going back to high school and my first written contribution to my local weekly newspaper. It was a chance to observe and record people participating in something about which they are passionate. There was a lot of passion last Saturday.

I chose to be on the sidewalks of Columbus, the Polk County seat, to watch the crowd in Stearns Park that grew to somewhere between 230 and nearly 300 people. The park has long been an ideal setting for people who want to get their message out to a steady stream of passing drivers. It is elevated about four to five feet above the street, creating a natural stage for a variety of groups over the years. Religious and political groups, of course, but also good causes like suicide prevention and helping the needy.

I didn’t participate because that’s not what journalists do. Journalists observe, report, and publish photographs in newspapers and websites. Columnists do all those things, plus they express their opinions and make comments or observations. Some call it pontificating. I’ve been called worse.

It’s like walking on the beach where there are millions of seashells. They all pretty much look the same until you spy an unusual one and pick it up. Here are a few shells I picked up.

All of these people assembled peaceably on a hot and humid summer day to send a message. That’s commitment.

An occasional song or chant begun by one spread through the crowd until the voices rang out clearly across the main drag to the lawn of the courthouse and even farther down the street to the Saturday morning farmers market.

Hand-crafted poster board signs reading “United We Stand,” “No Due Process,” “Honor Our Constitution,” “Not A Paid Actor,” “Hate Has No Home Here,” and “No Kings” were prevalent, as were dozens of American flags.

Many motorists, from cars, pickup trucks, and vans to tractor-trailer rigs, honked their horns in obvious support of the crowd’s message. That’s a sign.

Only one pickup truck driver let the protesters know he wasn’t with them. But it turned out the driver’s truck bore a Tennessee license plate—clearly an interloper.

From conversations I had with crowd participants, this wasn’t a “one-and-done” event. Some are thinking of spreading their message further. Perhaps a full-page newspaper ad. Maybe even a billboard. Maybe even three billboards.

Larry McDermott is a local retired farmer/journalist. Reach him at hardscrabblehollow@gmail.com