Everybody knows “crisis of dangerous refugees pouring in” is a lie.

Seriously. Literally. Everybody on both sides of this struggle for humanity and the soul of our nation? Already knows. Pointing it out for the 999th time does nothing at this point. Keep doing it if you want, but don’t delude yourself that it will move the needle even one millimeter.

Because this is not about, and never HAS been about, facts or reality. That is just not the basis any of this will be decided on. Sorry. I love sweet sweet reason and sanity too, but they are not driving this bus, and haven’t been for years.

This will be decided on one thing and one thing alone: how many of us will stick our necks out to stand up to fascism and hatred and cruelty; how many of us will BECOME perpetrators of fascism and hatred and cruelty; and how many of us will stand aside, or even quietly enable fascism and hatred and cruelty.

It’s that simple. So decide which group you’re in. Get on the right side of history. Figure out where the people around you are at. Bring them with you if you possibly can. And oppose them if they choose the wrong side.

Because – while things in this human life are very, very rarely so simple – this one thing, this one time, it is. Only one question ultimately matters here. So figure your shit out, the sooner the better. Where will you want to have been, and WHO will you want to have been. Humanity itself is calling out to you for help, and history is watching. I know none of us asked for this, but reality doesn’t care: here we all are regardless. What will you do, what will you choose — remembering, always, that not choosing and not acting are themselves choices and actions with consequences?

Sarah Roark is a contributing editor to RefuseFascism.org