It’s Only a Matter of Time Until…

Most Americans today still seem to believe they’ll be ‘safe’ in this country. Most of us are still relatively comfortable in our lives, since the high costs (social and economic) of Trump’s hate-mongering and idiotic tariff regimes haven’t fully kicked in yet. Most of us still think the ‘really bad’ stuff will only happen to other people — never to us.

However, it’s increasingly clear that, under Trump 2.0, our personal, social, and economic safety and ‘comfort’ are under sustained attack and are now disintegrating. What once felt like solid ground is shifting and crumbling away beneath us, and we are left hanging, dangling over… a dark abyss of intensifying suffering and pain.

See, in today’s wild American dystopia, no one is safe and no one is protected anymore. But, actually — that’s not… quite… correct. I should say, the only people who might be safe and protected, for now, are White, male, Christian MAGA conservatives (and their obedient wives). But these folks comprise only about 30% (if I’m generous) of the US population. This means that the other 70% of us — the vast majority — are under increasing threat of harm, whether that be physical, emotional, economic, and/or social harm.

Think about that. 70% of Americans, amounting to over 220,000,000 people, are now facing direct or indirect threats and oppression under Trump 2.0. That is an abomination. It is seriously c-r-a-z-y and unconscionable. It is tyranny, pure and simple.

The far right has a lock on power

In the case of the US (and other autocracies and dictatorships), a hateful, racist, and determined minority has seized power — and is now happily lording it over the rest of us, the vast majority. After the 2024 election, Trump and the MAGA-fied GOP gained control of every sector of our government, including the presidency, the Senate, the House of Representatives, and most governorships. They also have an iron grip on the Supreme Court, which is now controlled and directed by a heavily right-wing majority (6–3).

Thus, Trump and the GOP have a total lock on our government and on social and political power. And they are pushing their advantage hard on every front and in every conceivable way. They are pushing an extreme MAGA agenda that supports and raises up the White Christian nationalists and billionaire/oligarch class, but simultaneously oppresses or outright persecutes most other Americans.

And by ‘most,’ I mean Blacks, Hispanics, Asian-Americans, immigrants, liberals, progressives, investigative journalists, reporters, LGBTQ+ folks and their families, homeless people, autistic people, Native Americans, and other marginalized groups.

Every one of these groups is having its rights, freedoms, and economic opportunities squeezed, squelched, or even stripped away. The only ‘safe’ group, so far, is the ‘superior’ cohort of White, male, conservative, heterosexual Christians, as noted. So far.

The project: destroying and replacing liberal democracy

How and why has all this oppressive madness unfolded? On the most basic level, this madness has unfolded and strengthened because we let it. We let the racists, MAGA extremists, and radical right-wing zealots take over our airwaves and the Internet. We stood by while they mounted their seditious, malicious attacks on America’s fundamental beliefs and freedoms — month after month, year after year, decade after decade. We let them undermine and trash our (weak) attempts to actualize the American promise of “liberty and justice for all.”

In hindsight, it’s obvious that the election and re-election of Barack Obama — our nation’s first and only Black president — lit a raging, unquenchable fire under the racists and White supremacists. To them, Obama’s election and damned ‘liberal agenda’ were utterly unacceptable, and their rage and fury knew no bounds. On a deep inner level, they vowed to get their revenge and to undo and destroy every last vestige of ‘liberal America.’ And their inner fury soon leapt into action in the outer world and online. Hatred, racism, and vile conspiracy theories like Q-Anon and ‘The Great Replacement’ started spreading like wildfire.

Then, they found their perfect political ‘point man’ in Trump. Over the past decade — ever since he first won the presidency — the far right has been on a triumphant roll. They successfully infected and then took over the GOP, one of our two dominant political parties. This is a full-scale catastrophe for our nation, though few are willing to name it as such.

And with the ‘converted,’ MAGA-fied GOP now in total control, the racist and misogynistic social horrors they crave and insist on are mounting fast. They are implementing their horrific political and economic ‘policies’ at light speed. Unspeakable, abhorrent new social and political monstrosities are launched at our society and our sanity almost daily.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that their actual plan is to destroy America, take down our federal government and our economy, and institute a Christo-fascist tyranny led by Trump and MAGA. Oh, wait. It looks and feels like that IS, indeed, their real, ongoing plan — and that plan is being actively pursued and is accelerating as I write this.

The fascists came for them, and no one resisted (enough)

Most people alive today have heard the famous Holocaust-era quote from the anti-Nazi German pastor Martin Niemoller:

“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me.”

This stark statement is not a mere historical curiosity. It is a much-needed reminder… a prod to help us SEE what is really happening around us. It reminds us that similar atrocities can happen anywhere, including here in the former ‘land of the free.’

Just to make this point crystal clear, let me recount how the Trump/MAGA regime has unfurled its reign of terror.

First, they came for transgender kids and their families.

Then they came for women’s rights and women seeking abortions.

Then they came for LGBTQ+ folks in general, and now seek to repeal gay marriage.

Then they started censoring news outlets and banning books.

Then they came for illegal immigrants, supposedly targeting criminals and ‘the worst of the worst.’

Then they started rounding up and deporting anyone with brown skin who looked at all ‘suspicious’ — even hard-working, tax-paying folks, some of whom were already citizens.

Then they went after colleges and universities and mass media companies like CBS and ABC to force compliance with the ‘Trump agenda.’

Then, they started using the National Guard and our military to invade and patrol Democratic-led cities — Washington, D.C., Portland, Memphis, Chicago — to supposedly ‘fight crime’… even though violent crime rates are down and have fallen considerably over the past two years.

Then, most recently, Trump and his ‘Secretary of War’ Pete Hegseth convened a huge gathering of ALL of America’s top generals and admirals to force their support for an expanding war against ‘the enemy within’ — that is, other Americans. Trump went out of his way to redefine ‘war’ to include military action against ‘enemy’ Americans, ‘lunatic’ liberals, and their Democrat-led cities.

Are you scared yet?

A vast, intensifying tsunami of oppression and persecution

Friends, it’s abundantly clear where all this is heading. Trump may not be exactly like Hitler, but his ideas, goals, and agenda are strikingly similar. That’s because despotic, tyrannical bullies and ‘strongmen’ operate the same way in every society and every political situation.

The formula is simple — and devastating. Demonize marginalized social groups. Vilify more marginalized groups. Amplify fear and division. Utilize and spread vicious rhetoric that supplies ‘excellent reasons’ for White rage and racist hate. Create vile messaging about vicious ‘enemies within’ who are working hard to destroy the motherland.

Did anyone seriously believe this terrifying progression would STOP with transgender folks or transvestites or banning books? (Yes, we did.) Do we still believe it will stop at anything? Do we really think that ‘our group’ is immune or somehow ‘protected’?

If you think that this terrible, accelerating progression will stop anytime soon OR stop with the current roster of vilified ‘enemy’ Americans … well, I’ve got a sweet bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to sell you.

In the end, everyone is affected — and no one will be safe. Even the arrogant, ‘superior’ MAGA types will face their own social downfall and destruction.

It’s only a matter of time.