They are being described as possibly “the biggest ever mass demonstrations in American history.” More than 7 million people participated in No Kings protests on Saturday, October 18 across more than 2,700 events in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and in cities around the world.

In Vermont, organizers estimate that some 43,000 people participated in more than 40 events around the state. People came out to protest the Trump administration’s targeting of immigrants, LGBTQ+ rights, public education, the government shutdown and more.

At the Vermont State House, where some 6,500 people gathered in cool fall weather, U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., fired up the crowd with a call to fight back against Trump’s authoritarianism. Then she talked about the hero’s journey, an archetype in mythology and narrative storytelling (think Star Wars and the Hunger Games) that involves an ordinary person who faces a challenge, embarks on a journey, triumphs over adversity and returns transformed.

“I know that many of you feel anxious, you feel scared, you feel overwhelmed,” Balint told the crowd. “We have to see this as part of a hero's journey that we are all on together. We must shift our thinking into believing that we, each of us, embody that hero is going to lead us to a better day. And what I know is the first step on the hero's journey is answering the call. And that is what you have done today. You are answering the call.”

Asked about the deepening impact of the federal shutdown, Balint told the Vermont Conversation, “Millions of people are at risk of losing their health care, and we know that health care right now is one of the things that is making it incredibly emotionally, psychologically, economically devastating for families. We have to fight for health care, and we also have to say to this President, No, you will not bully us into submission. We're not going to sell out our people back home because we're afraid of your wrath.”

Millions of Americans are receiving notices of soaring health care premiums as Congress remains deadlocked over extending Covid-era subsidies, as demanded by Democrats. Premiums will rise by 18 percent on average, according to the nonpartisan health policy group KFF.

Sen. Peter Welch advised Vermonters to hang in there. “We don't know how this is going to end, but we know that the only real chance it has to end well is if we show that we are committed to democracy and we're willing to act together.”

Welch said that Trump sending troops to cities led by Democrats is “just a lawless exercise. It's a prelude to him potentially sending troops in if he doesn't like the vote outcome in the next election.”

I asked Paul Burns, an attorney and the longtime executive director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, whether he believed the legal system was up to the task of defending democratic institutions.

“We're seeing a Supreme Court where decisions appear no longer based on legal principles or court precedents," he said. "The court has no compunction about turning its back on long standing principles on any sense of consistency under the law. Absent that, we have to wonder whether the law can be there for us in any way that it has been in the past. And so I am deeply concerned.”

Burns said that what gives him hope is “looking over at my 14 year old son and he and other young people who bring to this an earnestness and an openness and interest in just living their lives in a free way, a belief still that we can and must have a democracy here. They are not tainted or jaded or cynical." He vowed to do "everything that I can to try to make this better.”

Clara White, a 14-year old eighth grade student from Montpelier, had a distinctive voice and message among the lineup of politicians and activists. She said that “people my age, we are not just sitting around waiting. We are more connected than generations before us. We care about each other. We know how to share information, organize online and learn from people all over the world. We are creative problem solvers because we have had to be.”

She cited examples of of how young people in her community “started a Green Up Day program, came together to feed families in need, and volunteered at a summer camp to help other girls feel empowered.”

"I choose hope because I've seen what happens when people come together. I choose hope because giving up is not an option. I choose hope because I believe in us."