This country is larger, both geographically and demographically, than WWII era France. And its wealth is far more diffuse as is its layers of soft power. It’s decidedly not going to be like Nazi occupied France, but more like a lamer Orbanist Hungary. It’s going to be competitive authoritarianism, not totalitarianism. That’s little comfort but makes resistance more likely to succeed in the long run.
That’s an important distinction. However, competitive authoritarianism still allows for opposition, albeit under increasing constraints, which means resistance can adapt, organize, and push back in ways that aren’t possible under full-blown totalitarianism.
The challenge will be maintaining institutions and counterweights long enough to prevent further democratic erosion. Just because this isn’t *quite* a full-blown Nazi occupation doesn’t mean we can’t take notes from the French Resistance. Their tactics—networking in secret, using everyday tools for subversion, adapting to shifting threats—are all still relevant.
Resistance in any form requires agility, solidarity, and an understanding of how to push back without playing into the regime’s hands. The fight may look different, but the lessons remain: **stay organized, stay adaptable, and never assume the battle is already lost.**
Agreed. But the importance of the difference is profound if for no other reason than competitive authoritarianism allows, if not encourages, the maintenance of the frog slowly boiling in a pot syndrome. At least under Nazi occupation of France, a stark line between Vichy embrace and Resistance was presented. Americans are, on the whole, passive, self-deluded and lazy and easily distracted with spectacle. That’s why we’re here now and likely to succumb to competitive authoritarianism rather than throw it off. There’s nothing like an existential threat to focus the will and the mind. I don’t believe we’ll get to that and it’s unfortunate.
They won’t have any choice but to confront the consequences. Will they be Good Germans or Vichy French? Time will tell. But sheep follow where they think they got the best chance for their next meal. Destroying the social contract has never been an efficient way to fill the belly of the starving.
"Americans are, on the whole, passive, self-deluded and lazy and easily distracted with spectacle." As a veteran and someone who has been outside of this country in both Europe and the Middle East, that statement of yours sums up the average American with pinpoint accuracy. Even now, the number of our fellow citizens who do ont grasp what is happening is disturbing, but not surprising.
Part of it is the product of the myth put forth by our educators, media and politicians that Americans are exceptional. There was a time after the victory of WWII that the chance for exceptionality might have had a chance, but it’s been a long slide to the gutter instead and America has degraded so far as to not only vote in a convicted con man a second time, but these same people are cheering the destruction he has wrought. There’s no saving it as a functioning republic. It will just be a place where billionaires can gather, exploit the oligarchy they create and oppress those who won’t submit.
It seems that the "frog in the pot" analogy is what we have at the moment. Too many people thinking that it can't be as bad as the naysayers (for lack of a better word) predict, combined with those who don't see what's happening because they are not directly impacted, or that feel it's just a temporary inconvenience.
More frogs are being introduced to hotter water as this admin cuts more and more services. It may be a bitter lesson learned late but the reaction will be predictable, I hope, resulting in a backlash. I see that farmers are realizing it is their crops going unsold or factories shutting down because of tariffs. When migrant labor flees who will pick those oranges, apricots, lettuce, etc. The pain will be shared across the low end of income, no matter the party affiliation. Maybe the 1/3 of eligible voters who sat the last election out will finally realize that our democratic system is not just on TV.
We can only hope with BETTER PUBLIC education, NO PRIVATE SCHOOL VOUCHERS, and serious hardship for the average person from the damage Putin/Musk/Trump/Vance are doing to our nation, the majority will WAKE UP and decide being WOKE is an advantage, not a disability. The revolution will become violent regardless, and we will prevail with the support of our former Allies' united against this COUP. Tonight I heard that many who are kissing the boots in Congress have been threatened with physical harm to themselves, their family, and perhaps their friends by the PRESENCE of the Proud Boys and other violent insurrectionists and MAGA cult members who know they will be pardoned for any new violence in support of the coup. If they has come forward before 2020 when there were legitimate FBI and CIA and HOMELAND SECURITY forces, they could have been protected, but they FAFO and now we are fighting a coup.
Too many people are still in such a state of SHOCK that they are frozen, in denial, or demoralized. We The People can and will rise up and cut them in their bank accounts with boycotts and encouraging the rest of the FREE WORLD to freeze their assets, place an embargo on American goods EXCEPT FOOD, and kick America out of NATO since we are now a Russian puppet nation.
Unfortunately for that 1/3 who sat out the 11/24 election, that might have been their last opportunity to exercise their right to vote— if King Musk and his vassal Trump gave their suspected way…
This is very hard to read and contemplate how relationships will be challenged … who to trust.. how much exchange of what kinds of info will be expected, offered, etc. I’d like to pretend we are not going to experience this competitive authoritarianism. . . Frog boiling slowly…
I’ve already lost family over these turns of events and can tell you I’m better off that way. Your circle is going to get tighter but it needed to. Too much shallowness and frivolity in our lives have made us weak and lose sight of what’s important. It’s FAFO time and everyone is FO to some degree or another at roughly the same time so you will know soon enough who and what matters.
Agreed. There is nothing but bad faith left on offer. That’s Vance’s Hegseth’s, Rubio’s and Chump’s message to the rest of the world. We’re now aligned with Putin’s Russia and we’re going to extort Europe and Canada in a protection racket.
Don’t you dare be fooled. Thats what MAGA wanted and thought they would get! Vance, Musk and Theil and their Techbro Humanist Narteork State modern North Korea is what their are forming and Bannon MAGAS know it, survivalist and Himesteaders know it. Its comments like this who show you have not listened to Vance’s behind the curtain speeches, his worship of Yarvin or Yarkins blueprint ( that by the way Musk has been executing TO THE T) . Do your research. MAGA WAS DECEIVED and we other sleepers were invaded.
A false comparison. Nazi Germany did not occupy the French empire and France’s empire wasn’t made up of 48 contiguous states like the United States. In November 1942, the Allies occupied the French North Africa, and in response the Germans and Italians occupied the entire Metropolitan France.
So, your statement that the US is “far smaller than WW II French Empire” doesn’t hold together as any counterpoint to the simple proposition that a fascistic Trump administration will have an extremely difficult time subjugating a country with 340.1 million people and 3,717,813 sq miles even with the most powerful military in history not all members of which will follow orders to oppress Americans. Many likely will not and the consequences of that fact would likely lead to a far different outcome than waiting for someone else to save them like the French required.
It’s not even close to what Orban has achieved to date. It has that potential, but firing 10% of the federal government workforce isn’t the equivalent of the kind of competitive authoritarianism Orban installed. The EU has done nothing to assist Hungarians. The EU hasn’t even kicked Hungary out of the EU for siding with Putin. Blue states haven’t buckled under to fascistic Trumpism. You’ve given up in advance.
This is not one of those times. You don't laugh when your baby is dying. You don't laugh when someone pulls a gun on you. You don't laugh when someone takes over your government and steals your data.
I hear you—some moments are too heavy for laughter. But sometimes, even in the darkest times, humor can be a lifeline, a weapon, or just a moment of breath before the next fight. It doesn’t mean we take things lightly—it means we refuse to let the darkness consume us.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I believe people will demonstrate. Maybe even quit buying a few days at a time. Grow vegetables. Bake bread at home. But I'm not so sure how ready we are to put our lives on the line as saboteurs, underground militias & railroads, special operatives, alternative communicators and all the other necessary roles needed to defeat tyranny. Even superficial stuff like a Shadow Government can't get off the ground so far.
The French didn’t flip the switch on the Resistance overnight. It took time to regroup, find their footing, and fight back. We might be caught off guard now, but trust me—we’ll get there. And when we do, we won’t back down.
Agreed people will wake up. Look at the people defending their neighborhood in Ohio from Nazi’s! Plus never underestimate people not only protesting but nation wide strikes also.
Never underestimate rednecks with arsenals of guns they won’t just hand over to the authoritarian regime either. Gorilla warfare in rural areas will occur.
It also takes time to build the trust in such relationships. At the outset, I imagine more French were surprised to see some friends go Vichy and others just as surprised to see friends go Resistance. The individual alliances the future may need are not currently set.
I feel that perspective. I also feel as though I am sitting on my hands but encompassing these negativities is my inability to figure out what I can do to help effect change. It seems like we all know we’re having our civil rights, our democracy, our personal identities, our reputation as a great nation trounced badly by the cruelty regime that is Musk & Trump 2.0. We can’t respond, en masse, fast enough or forcefully enough for our efforts to amount to a hill of shit. I have to talk myself into being strong, positive, and above all, the eternal optimist I have always seen myself as. It doesn’t feel very eternal, anymore, my optimism. It feels more like I am a fraud, harboring dark feelings and pasting a fake smile on my face every day. It’s not working out so well. I fly off the handle for petty reasons. I am an anxiety-ridden trainwreck, essentially, and have never felt more hopeless and lost in my entire life. I am 68, quite able bodied, working in an outdoor & very physical capacity year round in Minnesota in a retail garden center and have the working reputation of a badass because of my strong work ethic and drive - and for decades have been determined to stay strong enough to continue working til I am 70, then retire, and hit the road for keeps with my camping gear, and really live my best life. Lately I feel like none of that is achievable anymore and I am clueless about what to do to regain my spirit and pull myself back up by my boot straps. Sorry to snivel. These thoughts pile up on me when I come in off my forklift from the 7 or 8 hours worked in subzero temps, and crawl under a blanket in my easy chair to Substack my chills away and catch up. Even this fine community doesn’t have much hope, I am sensing, nor quite know what to do about it. Not shaming or blaming anyone. Am just SO seriously bummed out.
Sheri, you are not alone in your attempts to stay optimistic and in your acommpanying fear that it’s unrealistic. I’m almost 68, also have a job I love and plan to keep on going, but, boy oh boy, the reality of things drags me down. I read that we need to stay in community, not feel that we are doing this on our own. Find your community, here or irl, and do little things that empower you. And take a break when you need to. We’ll all be here.
Leslie, thank you SO MUCH for that encouragement. One thing about this whole ugly fascist takeover of everything we hold dear? They can’t take our people, our friends online and in person, our neighbors,coworkers…I’ve always been rather introverted but am, out of necessity, reaching out more and finding more and more like-minded people. I so appreciate communicating with others facing similar fears AND triumphs that I am. It helps me remember that I am not stark raving crazy, it just feels like it all too often. I want to believe that this too shall pass. I HAVE to believe that, realistically.
I think what you're doing is important work! I refuse to allow a fascist regime to throw me into wallowing despair. My husband and I are retired - in our 70's - and dedicated to making as good a life for ourselves whatever the circumstances. We are working to challenge what's happening, donating where we can, helping others as we can. When the 'big picture' is too much, one can narrow down to one's community, one's loved ones, neighbors. So much is being taken away - do not allow the fascists to dampen your spirit. Also, Nature is healing - don't put off those camping trips! Every state has wonderful State Parks, spots for swimming, hiking, etc. We're in Maine and hike even in the snow. Cherish life and keep fighting!!!
I’m seriously bummed out too. The mental and emotional burden is making me physically drained. My partner and I wanted to retire early a few years from now and we probably won’t g be able to. I want to take political action but I’m
Oh, MY, do I feel your pain. I am so afraid my social security will get cut off that I don’t dare announce a retirement date at my job (albeit having to work at least another year). Keep your chin up and focus on making your early retirement goal. Something good will come to us all, because not one of us deserves all this bad.
⬆️ What she said... All of it except for the age and the job parts… I don’t know what to do with all this anger and angst. Sense of dread and helplessness. Do I arm up in the possibility that my government turns on me? Do I continue calling and voicing my concerns to my governor and senators? Do I keep posting things on social media and interacting with the trolls who attempt to silence me? All of it feels like a brick wall to the head.
2-- Do not engage with trolls. Time is precious, and time is ammo. Do not throw yours out getting distracted by anyone pulling you off course. Look at all engagements as a matter of "what does this get me?" If giving time to ANYONE does not help you as a citizen (steps to democracy, etc), or help you as a person (self-care, nurturing your children, caring for others whose well-being matters to you), then let that fucker starve for your attention.
I’m not sure if this helps, but I’m also in very chilly Minnesota and unfortunately feeling the paralysis of fear right now too. What’s happening under this regime isn’t exactly surprising me, but I really never meant to get to this fear and paralysis place, and I sure don’t mean to let them “win.” AND, I think the daily onslaught of national and world news, as well as hard things in my personal life like ill elderly parents, means I need to feel this way for a bit. We don’t have to take action right away, and yet we also can’t let this be the end of our story. I think we get to take some time to feel our feelings, and then move forward. I wish you the best, and continued strength and badassery!
I’m with you, Sheri, those of us who worked for our great retirement are being cheated of it. That was a very hard pill for me to swallow, also. VERY hard pill. You now have a noble calling, that the history of earth will remember, to STAND STRONG. History will echo what we all do now.
There are people who will take what we consider are the more 'courageous' roles (as in Vichy France, the Underground didn't advertise its work!), but there's much others can do in quiet ways. Offer support to those who are targeted; make dollar donations (even if small) to organizations like the ACLU or Democracy Forward, who are working hard right now to challenge what Elon/Trump are doing. Volunteer locally for causes you care about. It feels overwhelming at this moment, but people are finding each other, and I believe there's hope. I read a lot of biographies from the fight against Hitler in World War II, and peoples' efforts - big (blowing up rail lines) and small (farmers hiding their produce from invading Germans!)- eventually brought down that horrible regime.
I’ve long admired the French resistance fighters during the Nazi occupation of France. Not only did they continue to gum up Nazi power, German soldiers were terrified of getting captured by the free French Resistance fighters because those French had long and bitter memories and were more than thrilled to take equal revenge.
I just want to be a madame Lefarge knitting as the tumbrell comes by with Trump and his cohorts.
It's 'Madame Defarge' from Dicken's novel, 'A Tale of Two Cities', about the French Revolution to democracy, not the French Resistance to the WW2 occupation. But I think you are correct about it, nevertheless: what is happening now is far more in line with the French Revolution, unfortunately for us.
You are so correct and I was in a hurry and mixed the historical content and I couldn’t my copy of Tale to check the proper spelling of her name. It the image of her sitting and watching has stuck with me since I first Dickens’ novel when I was 12. But the point I was trying to make is that when the French people are attacked, they do respond with strength and anger.
This is incredible and what I have been hoping to see, since the inauguration three weeks ago I have been watching the appeasers for what seems like three years and still I scream. Every day is a wasted opportunity. No one seems to get it at all, this is real.
So on that note, and not to seem flip, but when this started to really steamroll the first thing I thought (after “holy shit”, obviously) was “Hogan’s Heroes”. I recall reading somewhere that Werner Klemperer agreed to play Klink, “conscious that he would be playing the role of a German officer during the Nazi regime, (and) accepted the part only on the condition that Klink would be portrayed as a fool who never succeeded.”
During and after the Occupation, the Resistance assassinated between 10,000 and 100,000 collaborators (depending on whose numbers you believe). I’m sorry to say that I increasingly believe something similar may be necessary here before this is all over. I’d add that I consider all those responsible for the installation and maintenance of the Musk-Trump regime to be appropriate targets for retribution. Older Americans should ask themselves if they’d prefer to spend their twilight years bemoaning the loss of democracy from their lounge chair or doing something, whatever that something might need to be, to spare their children and grandchildren suffering.
1. I am digesting the news through intelligent filters: Heather Cox Richardson
2. I am being aware of the emotions and feelings and turbulence and doing the inner work if it relates to past traumas and composting my projections.
3. If I can manage it, I am sending correspondence to my representatives via their online forms. If I am too emotionally distraught to write, I use AI to help me draft the message.
4. I have unplugged from social media that has fallen in line with this free fall into autocracy.
5. I continue to use the tools I learned as an artist, understanding, that change and shifts can occur on an energetic level, and some of this ties into my indigenous spiritual technologies.
6. I am REFUSING to hate, and am practicing compassionate listening with people EVERYWHERE. If simply reflect back what they have told me, and often times, shared humanity emerges.
7. I am taking care of the physical body with good nutrition, exercise, nature practices, being very mindful about the communities I interface with and grounding into intuition. Intuition, from my lived experience as a trauma survivor, has lessened pain.
8. I am listening to earth, as a sentient being, and asking for guidance from that place of dreams, what my role is, that greater intelligence. When I am in mediation, with all earth, it is impossible to hate those who are a part of the web of beliefs, thoughts, actions that are supporting this coup.
9. I am beginning to think of our own garden more, and growing food.
10. I am going to figure out how to switch out of google.
Finding those in your community who flaunt fear is a good start. Right now BECAUSE we don’t know and trust our neighbors we are in a worse place. Take the time now to introduce yourself, exchange numbers, find commonality. Back up important information and store it where it’s safe. As the OP says, we will not be able to trust any of the “normal” institutions including banks.
The rascally spies of OSS knew a thing or two about mischief making, especially when it came to undermining America’s enemies in World War II. One of their more imaginative ideas was to train everyday citizens in the art of simple sabotage.
Competitive authoritarianism refers to a type of political regime that combines democratic institutions, such as elections and legislatures, with authoritarian or undemocratic practices that undermine the fairness and integrity of the democratic process. In these regimes, democratic institutions exist but are undermined in ways that give incumbent leaders an unfair advantage over their political opponents
I wasn’t sure what was meant by the term competitive authoritarianism, here is a definition I found and wish to share.
Yes, excellent. It seems like Aljazeera is good, I like BBC and Guardian — though I am sure there are lots of others. Maybe I should get Die Zeit, and brush up on my German :-)
This country is larger, both geographically and demographically, than WWII era France. And its wealth is far more diffuse as is its layers of soft power. It’s decidedly not going to be like Nazi occupied France, but more like a lamer Orbanist Hungary. It’s going to be competitive authoritarianism, not totalitarianism. That’s little comfort but makes resistance more likely to succeed in the long run.
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/path-american-authoritarianism-trump
That’s an important distinction. However, competitive authoritarianism still allows for opposition, albeit under increasing constraints, which means resistance can adapt, organize, and push back in ways that aren’t possible under full-blown totalitarianism.
The challenge will be maintaining institutions and counterweights long enough to prevent further democratic erosion. Just because this isn’t *quite* a full-blown Nazi occupation doesn’t mean we can’t take notes from the French Resistance. Their tactics—networking in secret, using everyday tools for subversion, adapting to shifting threats—are all still relevant.
Resistance in any form requires agility, solidarity, and an understanding of how to push back without playing into the regime’s hands. The fight may look different, but the lessons remain: **stay organized, stay adaptable, and never assume the battle is already lost.**
Agreed. But the importance of the difference is profound if for no other reason than competitive authoritarianism allows, if not encourages, the maintenance of the frog slowly boiling in a pot syndrome. At least under Nazi occupation of France, a stark line between Vichy embrace and Resistance was presented. Americans are, on the whole, passive, self-deluded and lazy and easily distracted with spectacle. That’s why we’re here now and likely to succumb to competitive authoritarianism rather than throw it off. There’s nothing like an existential threat to focus the will and the mind. I don’t believe we’ll get to that and it’s unfortunate.
Very good point. It will take some work from us to raise the alarm loud enough that people believe.
Hopefully there are enough of us not living in a social media false reality to grab the attention of others.
They won’t have any choice but to confront the consequences. Will they be Good Germans or Vichy French? Time will tell. But sheep follow where they think they got the best chance for their next meal. Destroying the social contract has never been an efficient way to fill the belly of the starving.
"Americans are, on the whole, passive, self-deluded and lazy and easily distracted with spectacle." As a veteran and someone who has been outside of this country in both Europe and the Middle East, that statement of yours sums up the average American with pinpoint accuracy. Even now, the number of our fellow citizens who do ont grasp what is happening is disturbing, but not surprising.
Part of it is the product of the myth put forth by our educators, media and politicians that Americans are exceptional. There was a time after the victory of WWII that the chance for exceptionality might have had a chance, but it’s been a long slide to the gutter instead and America has degraded so far as to not only vote in a convicted con man a second time, but these same people are cheering the destruction he has wrought. There’s no saving it as a functioning republic. It will just be a place where billionaires can gather, exploit the oligarchy they create and oppress those who won’t submit.
I will not submit.
Neither will I. Contact me if you’re arrested.
I propose “I will not submit” to be this era’s Spartacus-style catchphrase ✊
Cold War Navy Vet- https://open.substack.com/pub/dawnfarmer69/p/democratic-allies-must-impose-stringent?r=5aidkv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
It seems that the "frog in the pot" analogy is what we have at the moment. Too many people thinking that it can't be as bad as the naysayers (for lack of a better word) predict, combined with those who don't see what's happening because they are not directly impacted, or that feel it's just a temporary inconvenience.
More frogs are being introduced to hotter water as this admin cuts more and more services. It may be a bitter lesson learned late but the reaction will be predictable, I hope, resulting in a backlash. I see that farmers are realizing it is their crops going unsold or factories shutting down because of tariffs. When migrant labor flees who will pick those oranges, apricots, lettuce, etc. The pain will be shared across the low end of income, no matter the party affiliation. Maybe the 1/3 of eligible voters who sat the last election out will finally realize that our democratic system is not just on TV.
We can only hope with BETTER PUBLIC education, NO PRIVATE SCHOOL VOUCHERS, and serious hardship for the average person from the damage Putin/Musk/Trump/Vance are doing to our nation, the majority will WAKE UP and decide being WOKE is an advantage, not a disability. The revolution will become violent regardless, and we will prevail with the support of our former Allies' united against this COUP. Tonight I heard that many who are kissing the boots in Congress have been threatened with physical harm to themselves, their family, and perhaps their friends by the PRESENCE of the Proud Boys and other violent insurrectionists and MAGA cult members who know they will be pardoned for any new violence in support of the coup. If they has come forward before 2020 when there were legitimate FBI and CIA and HOMELAND SECURITY forces, they could have been protected, but they FAFO and now we are fighting a coup.
Too many people are still in such a state of SHOCK that they are frozen, in denial, or demoralized. We The People can and will rise up and cut them in their bank accounts with boycotts and encouraging the rest of the FREE WORLD to freeze their assets, place an embargo on American goods EXCEPT FOOD, and kick America out of NATO since we are now a Russian puppet nation.
Unfortunately for that 1/3 who sat out the 11/24 election, that might have been their last opportunity to exercise their right to vote— if King Musk and his vassal Trump gave their suspected way…
There’s something to be said for that quality in Americans and also the knowledge that once we can focus it will gather quickly.
This is very hard to read and contemplate how relationships will be challenged … who to trust.. how much exchange of what kinds of info will be expected, offered, etc. I’d like to pretend we are not going to experience this competitive authoritarianism. . . Frog boiling slowly…
I’ve already lost family over these turns of events and can tell you I’m better off that way. Your circle is going to get tighter but it needed to. Too much shallowness and frivolity in our lives have made us weak and lose sight of what’s important. It’s FAFO time and everyone is FO to some degree or another at roughly the same time so you will know soon enough who and what matters.
Great point about our country being larger, both geographically and demographically! I thought the same thing.
That is a plus as well as a minus. Supply chains are more spread out, as are the people in most of the country....
This was an excellent article - thank you for sharing it. I learned a lot and it made the most sense to me so far about what we could become.
Yes. We all need to take whatever steps, however small, to act as a bulwark against massive corruption and government degradation.
Agreed. There is nothing but bad faith left on offer. That’s Vance’s Hegseth’s, Rubio’s and Chump’s message to the rest of the world. We’re now aligned with Putin’s Russia and we’re going to extort Europe and Canada in a protection racket.
Our soft power, from the perspective of a political scientist, over dinner last night, has been erased.
Don’t you dare be fooled. Thats what MAGA wanted and thought they would get! Vance, Musk and Theil and their Techbro Humanist Narteork State modern North Korea is what their are forming and Bannon MAGAS know it, survivalist and Himesteaders know it. Its comments like this who show you have not listened to Vance’s behind the curtain speeches, his worship of Yarvin or Yarkins blueprint ( that by the way Musk has been executing TO THE T) . Do your research. MAGA WAS DECEIVED and we other sleepers were invaded.
Wish I could read the article for less than $40 🙄
Uhm, no. The USA is far smaller than WWII era French Empire.
A false comparison. Nazi Germany did not occupy the French empire and France’s empire wasn’t made up of 48 contiguous states like the United States. In November 1942, the Allies occupied the French North Africa, and in response the Germans and Italians occupied the entire Metropolitan France.
So, your statement that the US is “far smaller than WW II French Empire” doesn’t hold together as any counterpoint to the simple proposition that a fascistic Trump administration will have an extremely difficult time subjugating a country with 340.1 million people and 3,717,813 sq miles even with the most powerful military in history not all members of which will follow orders to oppress Americans. Many likely will not and the consequences of that fact would likely lead to a far different outcome than waiting for someone else to save them like the French required.
It will look nothing like what Orban is doing. There is no EU providing a braking force, and the US is going extremist far faster.
It’s not even close to what Orban has achieved to date. It has that potential, but firing 10% of the federal government workforce isn’t the equivalent of the kind of competitive authoritarianism Orban installed. The EU has done nothing to assist Hungarians. The EU hasn’t even kicked Hungary out of the EU for siding with Putin. Blue states haven’t buckled under to fascistic Trumpism. You’ve given up in advance.
Thanks.
You point out a lot of great parallels. I love the phrase “noped out” for the Charles de Gaulle faction!
Sometimes, humor is the best defense. =)
This is not one of those times. You don't laugh when your baby is dying. You don't laugh when someone pulls a gun on you. You don't laugh when someone takes over your government and steals your data.
I hear you—some moments are too heavy for laughter. But sometimes, even in the darkest times, humor can be a lifeline, a weapon, or just a moment of breath before the next fight. It doesn’t mean we take things lightly—it means we refuse to let the darkness consume us.
And not letting the darkness consume us is the critical thing!
It was sardonic humor— not delighted, blithe humor🤓
Me too! I fled to Mexico so I didn’t have to be in the US for 1/20. Now I’m going to simply say I “noped out”!
I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I believe people will demonstrate. Maybe even quit buying a few days at a time. Grow vegetables. Bake bread at home. But I'm not so sure how ready we are to put our lives on the line as saboteurs, underground militias & railroads, special operatives, alternative communicators and all the other necessary roles needed to defeat tyranny. Even superficial stuff like a Shadow Government can't get off the ground so far.
The French didn’t flip the switch on the Resistance overnight. It took time to regroup, find their footing, and fight back. We might be caught off guard now, but trust me—we’ll get there. And when we do, we won’t back down.
Keep that positivity coming, dear.
You got it, babe!
Agreed people will wake up. Look at the people defending their neighborhood in Ohio from Nazi’s! Plus never underestimate people not only protesting but nation wide strikes also.
Never underestimate rednecks with arsenals of guns they won’t just hand over to the authoritarian regime either. Gorilla warfare in rural areas will occur.
It also takes time to build the trust in such relationships. At the outset, I imagine more French were surprised to see some friends go Vichy and others just as surprised to see friends go Resistance. The individual alliances the future may need are not currently set.
I feel that perspective. I also feel as though I am sitting on my hands but encompassing these negativities is my inability to figure out what I can do to help effect change. It seems like we all know we’re having our civil rights, our democracy, our personal identities, our reputation as a great nation trounced badly by the cruelty regime that is Musk & Trump 2.0. We can’t respond, en masse, fast enough or forcefully enough for our efforts to amount to a hill of shit. I have to talk myself into being strong, positive, and above all, the eternal optimist I have always seen myself as. It doesn’t feel very eternal, anymore, my optimism. It feels more like I am a fraud, harboring dark feelings and pasting a fake smile on my face every day. It’s not working out so well. I fly off the handle for petty reasons. I am an anxiety-ridden trainwreck, essentially, and have never felt more hopeless and lost in my entire life. I am 68, quite able bodied, working in an outdoor & very physical capacity year round in Minnesota in a retail garden center and have the working reputation of a badass because of my strong work ethic and drive - and for decades have been determined to stay strong enough to continue working til I am 70, then retire, and hit the road for keeps with my camping gear, and really live my best life. Lately I feel like none of that is achievable anymore and I am clueless about what to do to regain my spirit and pull myself back up by my boot straps. Sorry to snivel. These thoughts pile up on me when I come in off my forklift from the 7 or 8 hours worked in subzero temps, and crawl under a blanket in my easy chair to Substack my chills away and catch up. Even this fine community doesn’t have much hope, I am sensing, nor quite know what to do about it. Not shaming or blaming anyone. Am just SO seriously bummed out.
Sheri, you are not alone in your attempts to stay optimistic and in your acommpanying fear that it’s unrealistic. I’m almost 68, also have a job I love and plan to keep on going, but, boy oh boy, the reality of things drags me down. I read that we need to stay in community, not feel that we are doing this on our own. Find your community, here or irl, and do little things that empower you. And take a break when you need to. We’ll all be here.
Leslie, thank you SO MUCH for that encouragement. One thing about this whole ugly fascist takeover of everything we hold dear? They can’t take our people, our friends online and in person, our neighbors,coworkers…I’ve always been rather introverted but am, out of necessity, reaching out more and finding more and more like-minded people. I so appreciate communicating with others facing similar fears AND triumphs that I am. It helps me remember that I am not stark raving crazy, it just feels like it all too often. I want to believe that this too shall pass. I HAVE to believe that, realistically.
I think what you're doing is important work! I refuse to allow a fascist regime to throw me into wallowing despair. My husband and I are retired - in our 70's - and dedicated to making as good a life for ourselves whatever the circumstances. We are working to challenge what's happening, donating where we can, helping others as we can. When the 'big picture' is too much, one can narrow down to one's community, one's loved ones, neighbors. So much is being taken away - do not allow the fascists to dampen your spirit. Also, Nature is healing - don't put off those camping trips! Every state has wonderful State Parks, spots for swimming, hiking, etc. We're in Maine and hike even in the snow. Cherish life and keep fighting!!!
You folks sound wonderful and are inspirational with your positive perspectives. Thank you!
I’m seriously bummed out too. The mental and emotional burden is making me physically drained. My partner and I wanted to retire early a few years from now and we probably won’t g be able to. I want to take political action but I’m
Overwhelmed.
Oh, MY, do I feel your pain. I am so afraid my social security will get cut off that I don’t dare announce a retirement date at my job (albeit having to work at least another year). Keep your chin up and focus on making your early retirement goal. Something good will come to us all, because not one of us deserves all this bad.
You’ve just very eloquently described exactly how I’m feeling! ❤️ thank you
⬆️ What she said... All of it except for the age and the job parts… I don’t know what to do with all this anger and angst. Sense of dread and helplessness. Do I arm up in the possibility that my government turns on me? Do I continue calling and voicing my concerns to my governor and senators? Do I keep posting things on social media and interacting with the trolls who attempt to silence me? All of it feels like a brick wall to the head.
1-- Arm up.
2-- Do not engage with trolls. Time is precious, and time is ammo. Do not throw yours out getting distracted by anyone pulling you off course. Look at all engagements as a matter of "what does this get me?" If giving time to ANYONE does not help you as a citizen (steps to democracy, etc), or help you as a person (self-care, nurturing your children, caring for others whose well-being matters to you), then let that fucker starve for your attention.
I’m not sure if this helps, but I’m also in very chilly Minnesota and unfortunately feeling the paralysis of fear right now too. What’s happening under this regime isn’t exactly surprising me, but I really never meant to get to this fear and paralysis place, and I sure don’t mean to let them “win.” AND, I think the daily onslaught of national and world news, as well as hard things in my personal life like ill elderly parents, means I need to feel this way for a bit. We don’t have to take action right away, and yet we also can’t let this be the end of our story. I think we get to take some time to feel our feelings, and then move forward. I wish you the best, and continued strength and badassery!
I’m with you, Sheri, those of us who worked for our great retirement are being cheated of it. That was a very hard pill for me to swallow, also. VERY hard pill. You now have a noble calling, that the history of earth will remember, to STAND STRONG. History will echo what we all do now.
Sheri, I feel much the same way, different circumstances but hard to stay optimistic.
There are people who will take what we consider are the more 'courageous' roles (as in Vichy France, the Underground didn't advertise its work!), but there's much others can do in quiet ways. Offer support to those who are targeted; make dollar donations (even if small) to organizations like the ACLU or Democracy Forward, who are working hard right now to challenge what Elon/Trump are doing. Volunteer locally for causes you care about. It feels overwhelming at this moment, but people are finding each other, and I believe there's hope. I read a lot of biographies from the fight against Hitler in World War II, and peoples' efforts - big (blowing up rail lines) and small (farmers hiding their produce from invading Germans!)- eventually brought down that horrible regime.
Plans are underway and more for the future.
I have also noticed more posts about sourdough bread making of all things.
Mostly younger folks post in the sourdough sites and also back to the land movements.
I’ve long admired the French resistance fighters during the Nazi occupation of France. Not only did they continue to gum up Nazi power, German soldiers were terrified of getting captured by the free French Resistance fighters because those French had long and bitter memories and were more than thrilled to take equal revenge.
I just want to be a madame Lefarge knitting as the tumbrell comes by with Trump and his cohorts.
And you know, a lot of that resistance work, the really dangerous stuff, was done by women.
It's 'Madame Defarge' from Dicken's novel, 'A Tale of Two Cities', about the French Revolution to democracy, not the French Resistance to the WW2 occupation. But I think you are correct about it, nevertheless: what is happening now is far more in line with the French Revolution, unfortunately for us.
You are so correct and I was in a hurry and mixed the historical content and I couldn’t my copy of Tale to check the proper spelling of her name. It the image of her sitting and watching has stuck with me since I first Dickens’ novel when I was 12. But the point I was trying to make is that when the French people are attacked, they do respond with strength and anger.
This is incredible and what I have been hoping to see, since the inauguration three weeks ago I have been watching the appeasers for what seems like three years and still I scream. Every day is a wasted opportunity. No one seems to get it at all, this is real.
So on that note, and not to seem flip, but when this started to really steamroll the first thing I thought (after “holy shit”, obviously) was “Hogan’s Heroes”. I recall reading somewhere that Werner Klemperer agreed to play Klink, “conscious that he would be playing the role of a German officer during the Nazi regime, (and) accepted the part only on the condition that Klink would be portrayed as a fool who never succeeded.”
I was just telling my kids about Hogans Heroes. Out smarting is the name of the game.
During and after the Occupation, the Resistance assassinated between 10,000 and 100,000 collaborators (depending on whose numbers you believe). I’m sorry to say that I increasingly believe something similar may be necessary here before this is all over. I’d add that I consider all those responsible for the installation and maintenance of the Musk-Trump regime to be appropriate targets for retribution. Older Americans should ask themselves if they’d prefer to spend their twilight years bemoaning the loss of democracy from their lounge chair or doing something, whatever that something might need to be, to spare their children and grandchildren suffering.
Ohh, excellent point.
In the present moment, I am taking it day by day.
1. I am digesting the news through intelligent filters: Heather Cox Richardson
2. I am being aware of the emotions and feelings and turbulence and doing the inner work if it relates to past traumas and composting my projections.
3. If I can manage it, I am sending correspondence to my representatives via their online forms. If I am too emotionally distraught to write, I use AI to help me draft the message.
4. I have unplugged from social media that has fallen in line with this free fall into autocracy.
5. I continue to use the tools I learned as an artist, understanding, that change and shifts can occur on an energetic level, and some of this ties into my indigenous spiritual technologies.
6. I am REFUSING to hate, and am practicing compassionate listening with people EVERYWHERE. If simply reflect back what they have told me, and often times, shared humanity emerges.
7. I am taking care of the physical body with good nutrition, exercise, nature practices, being very mindful about the communities I interface with and grounding into intuition. Intuition, from my lived experience as a trauma survivor, has lessened pain.
8. I am listening to earth, as a sentient being, and asking for guidance from that place of dreams, what my role is, that greater intelligence. When I am in mediation, with all earth, it is impossible to hate those who are a part of the web of beliefs, thoughts, actions that are supporting this coup.
9. I am beginning to think of our own garden more, and growing food.
10. I am going to figure out how to switch out of google.
DuckDuckGo for the search engine and Firefox for the browser. And a VPN.
Thank you! Blessing for caring and suggesting changes. I set the intention to download Firefox. and research what a VPN is.
Finding those in your community who flaunt fear is a good start. Right now BECAUSE we don’t know and trust our neighbors we are in a worse place. Take the time now to introduce yourself, exchange numbers, find commonality. Back up important information and store it where it’s safe. As the OP says, we will not be able to trust any of the “normal” institutions including banks.
Get your copy before they take it down!
The rascally spies of OSS knew a thing or two about mischief making, especially when it came to undermining America’s enemies in World War II. One of their more imaginative ideas was to train everyday citizens in the art of simple sabotage.
https://www.cia.gov/stories/story/the-art-of-simple-sabotage/
Thanks for the link!
My concern is what happens if independent media such as Substack is cut off. How would we find one another?
Snail mail if it is still working.
Letters / zines printed out by typewriter and copy machine if these things are still up and running.
Printing press when all else fails.
Word of mouth.
Snail mail has joined the chopping block, surprising no one.
Our networks must learn to be interconnected and overlapping hubs of hyperlocality.
Competitive authoritarianism refers to a type of political regime that combines democratic institutions, such as elections and legislatures, with authoritarian or undemocratic practices that undermine the fairness and integrity of the democratic process. In these regimes, democratic institutions exist but are undermined in ways that give incumbent leaders an unfair advantage over their political opponents
I wasn’t sure what was meant by the term competitive authoritarianism, here is a definition I found and wish to share.
This is great. AND it has already happened. Our country has fallen into the wrong hands. :-(
Here are a few more:
- We can start to rely more on internationally-based platforms (including copying data to redundant, offshore servers)
- Maintain a paper trail of illegal actions (again, on offshore servers)
- Rely more on international connections — e.g., intl. climate research organizations, health organizations, etc.
- Facilitate greater exposure to reliable international media
This is what I am doing. No more cnn or msnbc. Read international news. Watch their news we get lots of them including French and others on our plan.
Yes, excellent. It seems like Aljazeera is good, I like BBC and Guardian — though I am sure there are lots of others. Maybe I should get Die Zeit, and brush up on my German :-)
Yep I watch BBC and also al jazera has good reporting seems unbiased and is worldwide
Thanks for this valuable and inciteful info.
I’ve been thinking lately about the person-to-person networking. Because the powers that be already have access to our online conversations.
Important communications should go through an encrypted network like Signal. That is until signal stops.
Yes, and I had a bit of a….but…this is also what these big Tech Co.s want, for our government/democracy to fail, because they have been working on a plan too, City-States aka “Cities of the future” of their own making. T-dump even revealed this “idea” https://substack.com/@textingmenace/note/c-93037885?r=57p1p2&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
Yes, this is playing a role in what is happening now too.