the boot heel of authoritarianism
My phone rang at 6 a.m. in the morning. I ignored it. When I clicked on my voicemail, I heard the voice of a man saying “Melinda, we know where you are, ICE is coming for you, we are at your door, you cannot hide.”
I thought it was a joke. But after a few minutes I realized this was no joke. I immediately blocked this unknown caller. My next reaction was anger … then defiance.
I have written before about the rise of authoritarianism in the United States, but it is no longer rising—it is here.
Germany was taken over by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945. There had been a democratic government, albeit a weak one. That said, Hitler was able to turn the German people against each other, terrorizing citizens with his gestapo, his secret police, and detention centers, more accurately, his concentration camps.
He spewed propaganda, tore down Germany’s democratic institutions and spread fear and terror throughout the country. From Germany’s democracy, Hitler created a dictatorship with one-party rule. Hitler’s ideology was predicated on creating an Aryan race, which allowed his brownshirts to target minority groups—Jews, Roma and Sinti, people with disabilities, the Slavic people, Soviet prisoners of war, communists, socialists, social democrats and trade unionists.
He went after LGBT people, beggars, vagrants, alcoholics and those he labeled “professional criminals.” African and Afro-Germans were sterilized or murdered, and Polish intellectuals, teachers and clergy were attacked in order to destroy Polish culture.
Which brings us to the MAGA movement, Project 2025 and Trumpism in 2026.
With the help of Fox News, Trump uses his pulpit to spread lies. He calls his political opponents’ “vermin.” He claims immigrants are “poisoning the blood of America.”
For years Trump has attacked minority groups and political rivals and continues to demean them. He threatens our ability to live peacefully, protected by the rights put forth in our Constitution.
Trump constantly attacks the press, calls it “fake news” and tells reporters to “shut up, piggy.” He has sued our TV networks, print news media, universities, law firms and anyone who threatens his authority. He does this to scare and intimidate and to bend everyone’s will to his own.
We are seeing the horrific results—day after day after day. The entire Make America Great Again movement echoes Hitler’s call to regain the past greatness of Germany. Trump demands absolute loyalty from everyone, mirroring Hitler’s “Fuhrerprinzip” the totalitarian principle of Nazi ideology, the absolute power and obedience to “the leaders.”
We are now seeing Trump’s efforts to take over other countries, while he demeans our allies and kisses up to dictators. His so-called Board of Peace has been created to establish a new worldwide order, which, we can assume, will cement Trump’s control over world affairs. The Board of Peace is basically a Trump-owned United States company with Trump as the permanent chairman and major shareholder. This is a kleptocratic oligarchy, a form of government known as “rule by thieves.”
Trump is deranged, delusional and a traitor to our Constitution. That said, he is effective, entertaining, influential and holds tremendous power. As the leader of the richest country on the planet with the strongest military, Trump sits on America’s throne—for a bloody second time.
He will overthrow, steal and pocket all that has truly made America great these past 250 years, that which so many died to protect: our freedom.
Trump is a fascist. The political violence we are seeing on American streets by our federal government’s Homeland Security ICE thugs is fascism. Trump is building his own gestapo, a secret police force made up of Proud Boys and MAGA cult followers. His Detention Centers are indeed concentration camps which imprison, exploit and punish targeted groups.
What stopped Hitler was World War II, when the most powerful nations on earth came together to defeat him. I am not sure what will stop Trump and his MAGA cult from destroying our country, our freedoms and our planet.
Congress could impeach Trump, but the GOP controls Congress. We have a Supreme Court majority that is complicit with Trump’s actions. So, perhaps all of this falls to the individual states. They need to defy the federal government and uphold the rule of law and go to court again and again.
The problem is Trump is not following the courts’ rulings if they are not in his favor. He just throws up his middle finger and growls “F-U” to our judiciary.
With the boot heel of authoritarianism solidly on the neck of America’s democracy, it will take the people of our great nation to remove it and place it solidly and forever upon the neck of Trump and his sycophants. We are the last resort.
We need to keep standing up, speaking out, engaging in community action events. We must vote in huge numbers and participate in opposition events and organizations. We must financially support groups like the ACLU, NAACP, Legal Defense Fund, Common Cause and other pro-democracy groups.
Contact your elected representatives and participate in local organizing. Use your voice online and offline and support independent media. Stay informed and challenge false information.
And to the bad guy who left me that threatening message on my phone, you don’t scare me. You embolden me, you inspire me to fight back. You are a coward, and I am flattered that you are threatened by me because I know that in the end “good” always wins out.
