“The golden age of America is upon us,” says an AI-generated video posted by the official White House Instagram account. While President Trump’s media manager desperately tries to pump out propaganda on the hour, every hour, the American people are murdered, kidnapped, and starved. We are in a time of political divisiveness: everything you say is monitored and criticized, placing a target on your back. The rose-colored glasses many Americans have viewed their country with are slowly slipping off, and our hands are tied so tightly behind our backs that we cannot put them back on our faces. What does this mean for the average American? Realization. The United States of America is sliding down the slippery slope of fascism and authoritarianism, and it is time to wake up and fight for the so-called freedom that this imperialist nation supposedly promises.
The Five Stages of Fascism is a paper authored by Robert O. Paxton that dissects the inner workings of the fascist ideology. He breaks down the five stages as “(1) the initial creation of fascist movements; (2) their rooting as parties in a political system; (3) the acquisition of power; (4) the exercise of power; and, finally, in the longer term, (5) radicalization or entropy” (11). The current administration is not original in the slightest, but rather a continuity of a deep-seated disease that has plagued the U.S. since its conception: prejudice.
Paxton explains that one of the first instances of American fascism was the formation of the Ku Klux Klan after the Civil War. The KKK was allowed to run free for decades–free to torment, lynch, and harass anyone who did not fit their narrow idea of what an American should be. “But what does this have to do with the U.S. today? The KKK is no longer widely accepted, and we have far more tolerant views now!” That’s where you are wrong, my sweet summer child; open, festering wounds cannot be dressed with a Band-Aid. Issues such as racism and inequality are ingrained in American society, and we have been conditioned to accept them. Stages one and two are complete. While I am not saying the current president and his goons are cross-burners, they do actively uphold and perpetuate harmful rhetoric that scorns Americans who expect protection and respect from their government.
Conservatism has undoubtedly been on the rise in recent years. While Trump was booted out of office in 2020, his grasp on our country never faltered. Biden was doomed from the start: a pandemic, rising inflation, and crippling uncertainty? The American people were like a desperate ex when it came to Trump’s re-election: “take us back, Trumpie, please!” Nostalgia is one hell of a drug. Unfortunately for us, our lack of contextual literacy thrust us right into stage three. Trump won by a landslide, but we sure didn’t.
For your sake and mine, I will only focus on legislation passed and action taken in President Trump’s most recent term. The article “Trump’s Administration Civil and Human Rights Rollbacks” is almost thirty pages long, for the data from 2025 alone. An example includes one of his many executive orders from January 20th, 2025. This order in particular claims that immigrants attempting to enter at the southern border are “invaders.” For this reason, Trump believes he can invoke constitutional powers to override the Federal Immigration Law and Asylum Law, basically denying any immigration into the U.S. Another order, from the same day, states DEI initiatives and accessibility programs must end in the federal government. In all, President Trump passed sixteen troubling executive orders on January 20th alone.
In general, conservative ideology does not benefit the working class (i.e., trickle-down economics), but Trump has taken it to a new level. Although the mentioned executive orders are a year old, they still affect millions of Americans every day. Passing sixteen to twenty executive orders a day is not normal. This is an obvious abuse of power, even if it’s within constitutional limits. Barack Obama’s average sign rate was 35 per year (one of the lowest out of all presidents). That is only a nineteen-order difference between Trump’s day and Obama’s year. While executive orders are not set in stone, what he is signing is a glaring indicator of what he has in store for the ‘new America.’
Legislation isn’t just a piece of paper; it’s action. Action that harms innocent people. Action that decides what color of human is acceptable and isn’t. Following the One Beautiful Bill Act, ICE’s budget skyrocketed to 85 billion dollars. Instead of feeding the homeless, forgiving student debt, or enacting programs that would benefit the majority of Americans, people are taken off the street and murdered for speaking out. ICE has made martyrs out of people like Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and tormented families like the El Gamals. According to The Texas Tribune, the Egyptian family was taken and has been held in a facility in Dilley since last June. Artwork by one of their five children is utterly heartbreaking:
The family has also been subjected to “abhorrent medical care, inedible food and a disregard for their religious freedom as Muslims.” Unfortunately, they are just one of many families that have been subjected to this subhuman treatment.
According to the article “‘I am Simply Outraged’: Despite 8-Day Notice, Jayapal Blocked From Oversight Visit at ICE Detention Center,” in Tacoma, Washington, Rep. Pramila Jayapal was blocked from conducting oversight at the detention center there. When she refused to leave, she was finally allowed to see her client–in a public space rather than a private conference room. Remember that somewhere in that old piece of yellow paper that starts with “We the People,” we have the right to an attorney?. The U.S. government sure doesn’t. Representatives, under Section 527 of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, “…state that members of the legislative branch are allowed to conduct ‘robust and effective oversight’ of such facilities.” As established before, these centers have a LOT to hide. At this point, it’s an open secret that the United States is kidnapping and systematically torturing people for the heinous crime of being brown at the wrong place at the wrong time.
What does this say about us as a country? We should be ashamed as a nation. Other countries have rebelled against much less, but when concentration-camp-adjacents are constructed in the “land of the free,” we do nothing. Human rights violated, children imprisoned, basic First Amendment rights denied. Is this really how we want our country seen on the world stage? The fascist hellhole that takes people off the street like it’s 1930s Germany? You should be embarrassed. You should feel angry. You should want to take action against this blatant injustice. I wanted to end my piece on a hopeful note, claiming that we have not entered stage five just yet. How can I possibly even utter those words? I haven’t even covered what Trump has done to queer and transgender people, academics, and doctors. Stage five has been here. Does that mean we should give up?
There is still time. Educate yourself. Do not put yourself in danger, but take action. Protest, organize a walkout; something is better than nothing. We are in a time of fear and scarcity. Personally, I’ve had multiple nightmares of my loved ones getting stolen by ICE, subjected to the mercy of monsters. While I write this in the comfort of my warm home (and you most likely read it from the comfort of yours), people are abused by systems that were supposed to protect them. In Kansas, transgender licenses are being revoked. The oppressed are suffering. We can change that. It starts with a spark, then a flame. No one wishes to live in fear. It’s time to get French, my friends.
The views in this article are not necessarily the views of Wayne Valley or the school newspaper.
