Why We’re Not Good Right Now

08/09/2025

I am a writer. All my life, I have been writing vignettes in my mind of my daily life. I saw myself starring in my movie of the week, and as each episode, truly a drama only known onto me, unfolded, I neatly packed it with a bow. My happy ending, or unhappy one, would only be replaced with a new story. They were trivial, of course, but when an innocent, Hispanic, Catholic girl’s world is filled with mundane worries, these worries can seem monumental. I look back now and laugh at my innocence. I was a shy, quiet girl. Very introverted. My presence in school was hardly noticed except by my closest friends. No one knew of my stories. When I started to write them down, no one read them. I didn’t think I was a writer. I just wrote. I wrote when I was in high school. I wrote when I got married and had children. I wrote through 2 divorces and a Journalism degree. I wrote while studying for my bachelor’s degree. I wrote when there was nothing to say. I wrote through the toughest times in my life. And I write now because life is really getting tough.

It's something that can’t be unseen. A beautifully put together puzzle is slowly being disassembled. What was once a country founded on democracy is being slid into an abyss of authoritarianism. Oh, sure, people are blind to the administration's tactics and will claim that I, as well as others, are being hyperbolic. But when little pieces of the puzzle are taken away, it’s hard to notice that the picture is starting to look distorted. As a matter of fact, it can take thousands of pieces being removed before we don’t recognize the picture. Why does it have to take so many pieces? Why can’t we see each piece as being dangerous? I recognize it. Millions of us do. But what of the millions who refuse to? Why will it take so much damage and destruction to so many lives before we all wake up?

It doesn’t take too much research to find the top pillars of authoritarianism. Most scholars will highlight the following:

  1. Divide and rule – (MAGA vs everyone non-MAGA)
  2. Spread lies and conspiracies (Trump’s lies and constantly spreading conspiracies)
  3. Destroy checks and balances (He doesn’t follow the court’s rulings -zero accountability)
  4. Demonize opponents and media (He bullies all political opponents – “fake” news)
  5. Undermine civil and political rights for the unaligned (taking away women’s rights)
  6. Blame “others”, immigrants, for the country’s problems (ICE raids)
  7. Reward loyalists (Ring kissers get [fill in the blank])
  8. Encourage or condone violence (Jan 6!)
  9. Organize rallies to keep supporters mobilized (MAGA rallies galore!)
  10. Make people feel powerless (only Trump can make everything right!)

Trump is surrounded by loyalists who are willing to bend the rules or find a way around them to bend the knee to this thin-skinned man. Some do it for power and money. Others may do it just to be in his orbit, while others only because they know that Trump has no convictions. If the goal of his administration is to rid itself of immigrants, then why not have a staff full of bigots and racists? When crunch time comes, why would they care if grandfathers selling tacos and mothers attending graduations are thrown to the ground and handcuffed, then thrown into a prison surrounded by alligators? They committed a crime! And after years of describing immigrants as violent animals who have been raping women, coming out of insane asylums, taking our jobs, eating our cats and dogs, and poisoning the blood of America, do you think that his base cares if these people aren’t treated with the tiniest thread of humanity?

And it’s not just his administration, it’s his loyalists in Congress, who have a majority right now. It’s his 6-3 majority in the United States Supreme Court that coddles him whenever a case makes its way to them, not to mention the many Trump court appointed judges who will bend over backwards for him. Then we have the MAGA governors, mayors, state officials, council members, commissioners, and board chairs. Yes, folks, MAGA has erupted and leaked its way into every government office. This is what’s really poisoning the blood of America.

As much as I want to cry, I can’t mourn America yet. I still remember those elementary school history classes and certain words and phrases that stick out like melting pot, freedom, and no taxation without representation. I just can’t see after 249 years of turning away from a tyrannical monarchy, we would open our arms and embrace a new one. I won’t. Will you?