The scenes playing out across our nation are historic. Illegals are being rounded up in droves. The “fake news” media is being brought to heel. Tariffs are bringing in “trillions” of dollars to our economy. Liberalism is dying, God will control our government. And our children will be taught a ‘patriotic’ and Christian history.
Since the beginnings of the New Deal nearly a century ago, America has been on an ever increasing ‘liberal’ trajectory. Unemployment Insurance, Social Security, Food Stamps and other ‘social safety nets’ have robbed our businesses of valuable low-wage workers.
The Civil Rights Act took power away from the rightful rulers of this country. Government controls on banks, businesses, labor protections and minimum wage have undermined capitalism.
But no more. America is restoring its heritage. Donald Trump is just what America needed. Just not why you think.
The scenes playing out across our nation are historic, they are also terrifying.
The day that Trump was re-elected President many of us knew it would be bad. That it would be four more years of chaos, of uncertainty, of racism, hate, and bigotry. That the economy would sink, trade wars would reignite, and the federal government would succumb to feed Trump’s ego. I don’t know that anyone, certainly not I, could have imagined how bad. It’s also happening faster than anyone predicted.
As of the time of this article, some 48% of the goals for Project 2025 have already been achieved. Not including the Trump revenge tour. And we are only 10 months into this term. There is too much going on to address all of it in a single article, and that is by design. It’s a Blitzkrieg strategy of political and social change. We’re meant to feel overwhelmed, to feel powerless. But as bad as it is, as bad as it will get in the next three years, maybe Donald Trump is just what America needed.
For as long as I can remember there have been warnings. Not just about Trump, but Reagan and other Republicans. Warnings as to what would happen were they to come to power. Reagan eliminated the Fairness Doctrine, which allowed outlets like Fox and Newsmax to lie and to present just one side of a story. His ‘Reaganomics’ policies started a surge in offshoring of manufacturing jobs as corporations sought the lowest costs to provide the maximum benefit to their investors.
George W. Bush tried to privatize Social Security. Republicans have for 15 years been trying to kill the Affordable Care Act. They want to eliminate the department of education, roll back as many banking and energy regulations as they possibly can. And despite their denials, eliminate or fundamentally change Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
The last time a Republican came to power we had a violent insurrection, this time it’s worse.
Despite all the warnings about Project 2025, Christian Nationalism, increased deficits and national debt, and Trump’s plans for revenge on his political opponents, American’s still voted for him. Not by a landslide, not with some overwhelming political mandate. Just by a margin of 1.5%. But that was enough.
America has now become a fascist authoritarian state and Trump now wields nearly unchecked power. The U.S. is waging undeclared warfare on the high seas. People are being kidnapped off the streets and out of their beds and being sent to prisons in countries they’ve never been to. And though there aren’t enough ICE agents and National Guard troops to completely occupy cities, there are enough to strike fear with their campaign of terror.
The history of America is being erased and replaced with a white nationalist origin story. Universities, museums, even national parks are under assault. The South is literally rising again as statues of Confederate generals are erected at Arlington Cemetery.
The class wars and assaults on the middle class that started under Reagan have intensified exponentially under Trump. Millions are losing their healthcare. And Trump is appealing two court orders literally ordering him to feed the poor. All to provide enormous tax cuts for the wealthiest 1% of Americans.
Unemployment is the highest it has been in four years. Inflation is rising. The Oval Office was literally gilded. American’s sit in miles long lines for food pantries to feed their families. And, as if to rub the inequality in the faces of American’s, Trump held a lavish Great Gatsby party at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
But American’s aren’t taking it lying down.
“I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.” – Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
In 1941 America was a sleeping giant. The attack on Pearl Harbor woke us up. We fielded the largest military the world has ever seen. We produced the implements of war in quantities that other countries could only dream of. But this was only possible because all of America contributed. Men, women, minorities, even children. All played a part. And so dire were the times that it led to many firsts.
Women worked in factories, flew aircraft across the Atlantic, became police officers and joined the military as nurses. The Tuskegee Airmen became the first African American flying unit in the U.S. Military. Even Japanese American’s, some who had been interred in American concentration camps, volunteered for military service. But this was not the only time America awakened.
In the 1950’s American’s stood up to fight for civil rights, leading to the 1964 Civil Rights Act. In the 1960’s we protested against the Vietnam War, pressuring the government to withdraw from the war in 1973. And in the 1980’s, American’s protested here in the U.S. against Apartheid in South Africa. So strong were their protests that Congress passed the Anti-Apartheid Act in 1986 over the veto of President Ronald Reagan.
“Sometimes, you will never know the value of something, until it becomes a memory.” –Dr. Seuss
Rights and freedoms are being eroded. The media is being assaulted, people are being arrested based solely on the color of their skin or the accent of their speech. The military is now deployed to U.S. cities as police. Platoons of masked ‘gestapo’ march through neighborhoods randomly deploying chemical weapons. And DHS has set up a toll-free tip line specifically to report children who may be in the U.S. unlawfully.
Members of the Administration have openly promoted repealing the right for women to vote. They are challenging the Constitutional right of Birthright Citizenship in court, even claiming that Native American’s are not U.S. citizens. The federal government is facilitating the destruction of our pluralistic society and replacing it with one that is more ‘homogeneous.’ In other words, white. And the new Trump tax cuts for the rich is the largest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich in our history.
Throughout our history there have been moments of great loss. But often it isn’t until we have experienced loss that we take action. Since Trump became President again American’s have suffered great loss. And sadly, the worst is not yet upon us.
In every story of challenge and defeat there is always a villain. You can’t have a hero without a villain. There can be no light without the dark. And this is where Trump comes in.
Last month some seven million American’s took to the streets in protest, I was one of them. And the October protests saw greater attendance than the June event. With every egregious act, every outrage, every loss, those numbers will grow. And with tens of millions of people about to lose their healthcare in the coming year, I expect to see more American’s take to the street in protest.
Tragedy has propelled American’s to action. To demand change, demand justice, demand equality. And I believe it will again. Trump will not be president forever, though it may seem like an eternity. And from the ashes of Trump, American’s will rise up and demand change.
In the wake of the Great Depression we saw the New Deal which brought us social safety nets like Social Security and unemployment insurance. It brought job creation, worker protections, infrastructure projects and financial stability. It was paid for by making the wealthy pay their fair share. But every Republican President since Reagan has been transferring the tax burden from those at the top to those at the bottom.
Republicans are tearing down FDR’s legacy. As well as every other social advancement from the last hundred years. So egregious are these acts that I believe that American’s will demand there be another New Deal in the post-Trump America.
Prior to Trump 2.0 there were many things that would have been difficult if not impossible to change. Progressive wish list items like Medicare for All, Universal Pre-K, a $20 national minimum wage, publicly owned social housing, and Billionaire’s Tax to pay for it. Before Trump these kinds of advancements would have been political suicide for Republicans and even some Democrats. But the giant is awake.
The next few years will perhaps be our greatest challenge as a nation. But there is already hope. The number of people showing up to protest is growing. The November 4th elections demonstrated that people are not happy with the way things are going. And all but one member of congress voted for the bill to release the Epstein files. Our elected representatives are terrified of voter backlash. And this is right where we need to keep them. They need to be constantly reminded that they work for us, and not their corporate donors or Trump.
It won’t be easy. It will take work. It will require perseverance. It will require American’s to vote out Republicans in sufficient numbers to create a Democrat majority. American’s just need to be awakened. And perhaps, Donald Trump is just what America needed.