12-23-25
What is wrong with people? I’d really like to know. I think it’s clear that our nation is in serious danger of losing our democratic way of life and becoming an authoritarian autocracy instead. Yet millions of Americans continue to go along with what’s going on and even actively support it. What the hell?! So let’s take a closer look at the situation.
We’re seeing how the Trump administration has federal agents literally grabbing people off the streets, and many of these agents do so while wearing masks. There are numerous reports of them bashing into homes without warrants and holding people (including individuals here completely legally) in custody for extended periods. This type of behavior, which is being seen far too often, is scarily reminiscent of secret police in authoritarian countries. It makes many of us think about the KGB grabbing people in similar ways during the Soviet Union days or how the Gestapo acted in Nazi Germany. And here we have this sort of behavior happening in the United States today.
We’re also seeing how the Trump administration and other Republicans have been trying to force universities, media outlets, and museums to change what they do, say, and show. Trump is trying to force the Smithsonian Institution to change numerous exhibits that he doesn’t like, and we’ve already seen how Trump seized control over the Kennedy Center (an institution that had historically been nonpartisan with Republicans and Democrats on its board) in order to force it to put on shows that he wants and avoid others that he doesn’t. He’s even added his name to the Center. Trunp’s aggressively attacked a number of universities such as Harvard, threatening to withhold funds, if they don’t bow to his demands about diversity and how they educate students.
We’re also seeing how Trump and Republicans are aggressively attacking the LGBTQ community, especially those who are transgender+. I think these attacks have been especially vicious and brutal. Numerous government websites have removed any mention of transgender+ people, even sinking so low as to remove the T from LGBT. An example of this is at the Stonewall National Monument in Manhattan where mention of transgender+ involvement was removed despite the fact that they had been actively engaged in the original Stonewall events. Trump has banned transgender people from the military, and Republicans have been attacking insurance coverage of gender affirming care despite the fact that all major medical associations in the United States support gender firming care. The Trump administration has even removed transgender people from hate crimes surveys, ignoring the fact that transgender+ people are frequently victims of such criminal behavior. Think about that.
Trump is also threatening to use the government to go after political opponents he doesn’t like. Examples of this include his threats to imprison the Illinois governor and Chicago mayor. He’s ordered the Department of Justice to go after James Comey (and others) despite the fact that many legal experts feel that the case against Comey is extremely weak and likely unfounded.
And these are just some examples of what’s going on. I think it’s very clear that this sort of behavior is what is expected of authoritarian autocrats. It’s what dictators do. Think about it.
So what now? For those of us who see the dangers ahead and are deeply concerned about the rights of millions of people and the state of our democracy, we need to peacefully speak out and stand up for open-mindedness, tolerance, diversity, democracy, and the United States Constitution. We also need to get out in overwhelming numbers in future elections so as to vote out as many Republicans as possible at the local, state, and national levels.
The future is up to us.
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