By Eric G
We are nearing the first anniversary of the beginning of the Trump/Pence regime’s illegitimate reign of terror. Living under the first U.S. President who has seriously been accused of Fascist ideology confirms the classic phrase, “Time flies when you’re having fun.”
The fact that Trump won because of Russian intervention is a deal-breaker, all by itself. Austria held a presidential election in 2016 that was fraudulent, and that country’s Supreme Court ordered a revote.
America held a fraudulent election, and before the outcome could be sealed by the Electoral College, judges shut down vote recounts in Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. At first, when we thought Trump had won legitimately, I vowed to disobey whatever injustices he imposed for the next four or eight years. The tone changed when I found out the election was rigged―as he’d hinted it would be.
At first, though, I spent his presidency eagerly waiting to sabotage his every move. So many others felt the same way; they were so unhappy with the election results that they rediscovered the joys of mass protests in the streets, which had arguably become to political redress as VHS is to home entertainment. Though I still felt revulsion at both the administration’s bludgeoning of norms and Congress’s complacency, I thought I could sleep soundly knowing the Resistance’s voice was too loud to let anything get done. But after about two months, my fear came true. And I sense a direct correlation between the end of the consistent, loud protests and the regime accomplishing more of its agenda.
I’ve been following Refuse Fascism ever since it was first founded. Since the end of May, I started to donate the remainder of my checking account every month to Refuse Fascism, instead of transferring to savings. I receive a paltry Social Security check, so this required sacrifice on my part. But as Refuse Fascism itself has pointed out, all meaningful social change has required some sort of sacrifice (including sacrifice much greater than mine).
Because I was so frustrated with how things were going in this country, I used to talk about wanting to move to another (developed) country, but that talk was purely incendiary. Now I have seriously begun to research it. But to my disappointment, the immigration system is just as broken in other developed countries as it is here. The difference is that in America the issue with immigration is about skin color, and in other developed countries it is about economic status.
Why is moving to another country suddenly appealing? It’s not. My thoughts are very similar to how people consider suicide believing it will end their problems. My brain is trying to tell me that leaving America is better than facing these situations:
- Instead of impartial defenders of democratic law, Republican presidents since Reagan have abused the way federal judgeships work by appointing villains. Merrick Garland was the only instance I had been aware of, but dozens of seats were left vacant in Obama’s last two years just to spite him. As an LGBTQ person with an intellectual disability, I first got the idea of leaving America because of the Masterpiece Cake Shop The Supreme Court’s decision hasn’t been released yet, but its other decisions since Neil Gorsuch was confirmed (which were often unanimously in favor of the bad guy) make me pessimistic.
- The FCC under Ajit Pai vowed to take away Net Neutrality, and it did. The UN has classified Internet access as a human right, and returning its status to a commodity could be a crucial step toward Trump/Pence implementing their full program.
- The Tax Scam Bill is literally a matter of life and death for me, as it would stop just short of eliminating Social Security and Medicaid, which I’ve always used since I’ve turned eighteen. I’ve never been steadily employed because of mental illness, but the Tax Scam Bill is forcing me to consider it even while my current trainers think I may not be fully And by giving legal personhood to fetuses, the implication of increasing birth rates spell trouble for me. I hate crying babies with a passion, even as my tolerance for children in general has increased.
Members of the Revolutionary Communist Party, and Refuse Fascism, tend to be anti-American because of the terrible things America has inflicted on marginalized groups in the past. I don’t get hung up on what America has done in the past, because the way I see it, what’s done is done. But I share their anti-Americanism, because these injustices continue to plague America with impunity even as they are mostly things of the past in other developed countries. I think of these countries and how they have public healthcare, living wages, officers who aren’t members of hate groups, and LGBTQ and women’s rights that don’t hang by a thread. And I ask myself, Why can’t America be like that?
No matter how they feel about their country, millions of politically inclined Americans have asked themselves the same question for decades. I very nearly gave up on Refuse Fascism because, even after November 4 let them know about it, people largely refused to participate in the November 4 movement or get involved with our organization in any way. I reasoned that if letting them know about our movement publicly didn’t attract them, what will?
In August, 41 percent of Americans supported impeaching Trump, as opposed to 24 percent for impeaching Nixon. Perhaps the passive people who know about us have a lot of faith in Robert Mueller’s investigation. But impeachment is a shamefully partisan process, and I am no longer a Democrat because not only are Democrats muzzling talk of impeachment (as Refuse Fascism has pointed out), they have voted to confirm Trump’s cabinet members and judicial nominees. Assuming America stays good enough that I don’t have to leave, I will only vote Green or Independent from now on.
To make a long story short, I have very personal reasons for Refusing to Accept a Fascist America. Others would probably have personal reasons too. But most of them refuse to believe that Nazi Germany could ever happen again, let alone in the proverbial land of the free. I think education will be a crucial step in getting people to join our side. So will a mass campaign demonstrating that the (relatively) free society they knew will soon be coming to an end.
America, in this hour of need, I need you to reach out your hand and do this with us. A president as un- American as Trump is beyond the scope of a democratic republic, and so is the scope of the damage he is set to do. It’s time to fight back in equal measure.