No Kings III speaker series: Naomi Sorenson Landry

Posts in this series are transcribed from speeches given at the March 28 No Kings rally.

I am passionate about this country. I believe that despite everything America is still the land of the free, but I know that is mostly because of the people who live here, which includes everyone here today, who are dedicated to fighting for that freedom. Each of you probably has many reasons for being here today, and all are important, but I think that one thing that unites us is our desire to protect and improve America. But how can we as individuals do that?

One way is what we do here-protest, make our voices known and unite with one
another. Please take time while you're here today to meet some people, get phone
numbers and contact info, and then get involved. We the People Cache Valley is a great organization and is completely volunteer run. Without the dedicated volunteers doing the insanely hard work of organizing, none of this would be possible. Any organizing we do as a community gives us a place to network and meet others, which leads to other opportunities to discuss and learn. So, sign up for the emails, come to the meetings when you can, we are so excited to see you! What you do doesn't have to be too intense, or overwhelming, but if you can do something consistently then you will make a difference!

The time for political complacency has passed.

I'm going to talk about two other things that I think are important that each one of us can do, the first of which is to talk to the people in your life. Which sucks, honestly! I would rather debate a stranger about politics than one of my own family members. But people can't have an opinion about something that they know nothing about. As you try to be informed, I think it is important to try and inform others. A discussion from you is going to make a much bigger impact on your loved one's opinions than a politician or newscaster ever will. Remember, Republicans, Democrats, really any one political party, is not "the enemy". We will never make real progress if we treat each other as adversaries. It needs to be us, the American people, versus the problem, which, right now, is (among many, many other problematic things) an increasingly authoritarian government who rules by dictate instead of law. If you have any questions about that please reach out, but there are lots of great resources online about communicating across political spectrums.

The other really important thing all of us can do is VOTE. Please! Vote, vote like our liberty depends on it. Because it truly does. I hear a lot of discouragement, especially among younger people, about our voting system. And it's true it is definitely not perfect. Especially in Utah, it feels like any one individual's vote doesn't make a difference. But I recently discovered something that shocked me:

Utah's voter engagement and participation are low! And among young adults it is
abysmally low! In the 2024 Presidential election 64% of eligible Utah voters actually voted. In the 2022 midterms turnout was even lower – only ~47% of eligible voters participated.

Gen Z and Millennials make up almost HALF of Utah's adult population, but in elections make up only 1/3 of active voters. Only 12% of voters in the 2022 midterms were 18-29, despite Utah having the largest share of 18-29 year olds per entire population in the nation.

This means that if younger people actually turned out to vote, our statistics here in Utah would likely look a whole lot different than they do right now. Functionally, right now in Utah our elections are decided by people older than 50, and that is because younger folks just don't show up in the numbers they could. So do it! Register to vote – we have a table here with people that can help you register. Talk to your friends and family, get registered. Our vote only has power if we use it.

There is a reason that local and national legislators have been trying to pass legislation attempting to disenfranchise voters – because our votes really do have power, but only when we show up! The SAVE ACT is a national voter law that is being debated, but the Utah Legislature passed something similar just this year, so get your birth certificates, get your documents, and check your registration status regularly.

These upcoming midterm elections are so important. Congress has the power to check the president when he is overreaching his executive authority (which he currently does constantly) but our current representatives are choosing not to use their authority to do so.

Within the past month Republican senator John Kennedy said that Republicans in
congress were ready to accept a deal proposed by democrats to re-open all of the DHS agencies except ICE (which is a reasonable compromise since ICE is still funded by the insane amount of money they were allotted last year), but that congressional Republicans rejected it simply because Trump told them no.

This behavior from our current representatives is a showcase of weakness and
kowtowing, not what American democracy is about. Our government cannot function if our elected leaders bend the knee to an authoritarian, if they don't have the courage needed to stand up with integrity and make our country function for us, the people. We need to elect representatives who have back-bones, and who will stand up to Trump when he oversteps – Individuals who are looking out for the American people, not for corporate lobbyists and donors. You cannot know if your voice would make a difference if you don't step up and try. The primaries in June are just as important because we need Republican and Democratic candidates who have the courage to stand up for democracy, and then we need full participation in the midterms in November! Get registered, and I'll see you at the polls!"

Speech by Naomi Sorenson Landry