Not long ago, a neighbor sent a meme to me suggesting that our values and our political choices depend upon who we associate with and those to whom we listen most closely. I couldn’t agree more with her though, among the local tribe in our residential association, she is the only one I know that supports the values of Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy. I’m guessing she listens to right-wing propoganda outlets. Of course, I would argue that I listen to objective media outlets even though she undoubtedly would label my preferred information sources as radical, left-wing trash. As I explored in a recent blog, we all have our preferred bubble.

I unquestioningly live in my highly preferred bubble … a fact I fully acknowledge. Virtually all my associates are rabidly anti-Trump. Then again, they all are highly educated professionals, the vast majority possessing advanced degrees from our finest institutions of higher learning. They are capable of higher-level analytical thought that typically is grounded in data and research.

At the moment, I’m thinking of one in particular. He is a reknowned infectious disease physician at the University of Wisconsin who remains active professionally well into his mid-80s. He also affirms that he is a political independent. At a recent neighborhood gathering, however, he sheepishly announced that, despite fears that we would consider him crazy, he has concluded that Trump must be a Russian asset. Nothing else could explain the President’s bizarre behaviors. No one in the group thought him the least bit crazy.

As I likely shared in a recent blog, I can not forget one scene from an early Woody Allen comedy titled Bananas. Somehow, the hopeless Woody Allen character gets caught up in a Carribean Island revolution that deposes a corrupt government, drawing clearly on the Cuban uprising led by Fidel Castro. Then, something goes wrong. The new strongman, who presumably now represents the interests of the common man, turns out to be a lunatic. He issues a bunch of bizarre orders such as all citizens must wear their underwear on the outside. He is quickly replaced, with the Woody Allen character being inserted in his place. The expected comedic results predictably happen.

Life is now replicating art. We are now living in a script that rivals Bananas in sheer absurdity. Trump is flooding the zone with a barrage of executive orders if, taken at face value, are designed to destroy our current government and replace our constitutional democracy with a dictatorial autocracy that is eerily reminiscent of a traditional banana republic. Just think of the following: our wannabe dictator has threatened to impeach any judge who opposed him (even conservative chief justice Robert’s has bridled at this): purged top military brass; fired all personnel charged with ensuring accountability in the bureaucracy, filled all top federal positions with sycophants who possess little experience or expertise, fired or demoted many members of public systems charged with defending the Constitution (DOJ, FBI) who were deemed enemies for specious reasons, threatened law firms and media outlets that he deemed disloyal, and vacated many of the preemptive pardons issued by his predecessor on highly shaky grounds. What do these and other actions tell you. Essentially this, Trump is marching toward his dream of an imperial Presidency. That, by the way, is merely another term for ‘dictator.’

Everyone in my circle of friends (perhaps save one) see this with absolute clarity. Yet, the better public opinion polls show only a slight decrease in support for the President, down perhaps 3 percentage points to a 47 percent approval rating. His disapproval rating, on the other hand, has inched up slowly to just above 50 percent.

I’m not at all sanquin with such small shifts. After all, the MAGA movement represents the most direct threat to our form of government in my lifetime. In addition, the economy is being torn apart at the seams while the historic Western alliance is in tatters. Trump has allied us with a Russian autocrat while demeaning and threatening historic allies. Yet, there has been remarkably little blowback. The fact that his approval rating has moved so little suggests how deeply felt the loyalty of his base is. They are driven by an abiding hatred of a society that embraces such attributes as compassion and civility, the core values of pluralism and diversity.

Then again, why am I surprised? Our history suggests strong fascist leanings throughout our history. The ante-bellum South was a strong mix of contemporary feudalism mixed with hierarchical notions of racial superiority. Our Civil War forced the South back into the Union but failed to undo the basic philosophical framework of the region, one premised on a feudal society built on overt oppression. Even after being crushed in war, that perspective remained alive and well in a perverse set of harsh sentiments codified into Jim Crow edicts.

In the runup to WWII, pro German sentiments remained strong. The American Bund, the Silver Shirts, the KKK and other related groups evinced explicit support for a racial hierarchy and/or ethnic purity while finding many supporters within America’s highly stratified and unequal social structures. If Hitler had not inexplicably declared war on the U.S. three days after Pearl Harbor, I doubt Roosevelt could have pushed this country to defend democratic ideals against the Aryan Supremacy beliefs of the Third Reich. Many Americans rather liked Hitler’s world view. Thank God Hitler was as dumb as Trump appears to be, as proven by his willingness to take on the U.S. absent any thought. Long after this world war fought to save society from its worst impulses, those fighting integration in America oft wore Nazi insignia to define the depths of their hate for a compassionate and inclusive society. Some 50 to 70 million perished world wide, but was the victory largely pyrrhic?

And here we have the central question for our times…what are our core values? Let us now reconsider one other historical point. While Germany was troubled in many ways after losing WWI, it still remained a highly sophisticated and advanced society. It was a leader in science, philosophy, and culture. In addition, the pro-Nazi support in German free elections before the Nazis took control never reached beyond 37 percent. In fact, they were receding in local elections just before an aging Bismark succumbed to pressure and appointed Herr Hitler as Chancellor. But times in Germany were difficult at that moment…a global depression, withdrawal of U.S. investment from their economy, and street violence between left and right. Uncertainty can cloud good judgment even in advanced societies.

In November of 2024, America chose Fascism even though there was no energency to cloud our judgment. I know that articles occasionally surface depicting former Maga devotees saying they had no idea what Trump would do. Perhaps they are sincere. After all, the cognitively impaired are found in any group. However, no one in my cohort were fooled for an instant. His intentions were transparent for all to see … in Project 2025 and in his own statements and behaviors and in the many books and articles written by sensible individuals who worked with him in his first administration. Above all, it simply is all too clear that Trump is a seriously damaged human being … a pathological narcissist and sociopath who succumbs to extreme bouts of paranoia. He is primarily driven by hate and revenge. That is readily apparent to all who care to look. This is a human who needs professional help, not to be placed in charge of a modern nation. Yet, his base adores him, many considering him sent by God to rescue them.

How could our present dysfunctional government retain such high levels of support despite two months of utter chaos. From which wellsprings of darkness does that support originate? First of all, Trump serves the interests of a very small interest group … himself and only himself. After all, he is a pathological narcissist. The traditional Republican Party (which overlaps with but is not identical to the MAGA world) focuses on the interests of a very thin slice of the American electorate … the uber wealthy. Every social problem can be remedied with another tax cut benefitting the ultra rich. It remains a matter of debate where that income and wealth cutoff line is, but it encompasses no one I know even though my acquaintances would be considered comparatively affluent. The MAGA movement addresses a somewhat broader interest group, white Christian nativists. This interest group is broader, perhaps generally encompassing one-third of the electorate in most years. Normally, these groups would not constitute a majority.

Put another way, these interest groups would not be able to control national politics. They could threaten democracy but not subvert it. What is different now? Among the typical explanations are: fractionalized and highly partisan information input venues (i.e., targeted propoganda); digital platforms that reward and direct users toward inflamed and emotional content; the corruption of excessive money in politics; the dynamics leading to hyper inequality of resources and power; an alarming decline in institutional trust; and the enhanced anomie that arises during periods of rapid change and cultural discontinuity. Other sources of uncertainty can be identified, but this will do.

Unlike Germany in 1932, we had no external crisis here. In fact, we had an economy that was the envy of the world. We were respected across the globe, especially among advanced democracies. There was no reason to panic or feel we were threatened at all. Yet, too many did and voted against their self-interest out of pure fear. Many thought their cultural hegemony had been challenged, an illusion that generated deeply felt fears and angst. It was all in their heads, fed by a continous flow of right-wing propoganda.

Several old Peace Corps volunteers from the 60s (not my group) started an email thread suggesting that America will hit rock bottom at some point. The question was posed … How will we know when this happens? There were a number of good ideas. Personally, I thought we should look to several institutional markers to identify the tipping point when this nation officially becomes a dictatorial banana republic:

1. When the courts (including the appellate level) clearly stop functioning as a separate branch of government and merely rubber stamp all acts imposed by the imperial Presidency.

2. When all the major legal institutions (DOJ, FBI, Homeland Security) pledge full allegiance to the President as opposed to the rule of law principle and to defending our Constitution.

3. When the nation’s armed forces are purged to the point that they become an extension of the President’s will and obey all orders (even should Congress object), including baseless foreign adventures and unlawful interventions in domestic matters.

4. When the independent media is threatened into submission or outright censored to the point when all competing perspectives and thought disappear from major platforms.

5. When our educational systems (from grammar school to our universities) are purged and/or battered to the point where independent thought and analysis is prohibited and our national history is whitewashed.

6. When all objection to the Imperial Presidency or its agenda (Project 2025) is deemed treasonous, including attacking any and all organizations daring to voice alternative views (Note: Trump already has started going after law firms he dislikes or which sued him in the past).

7. Ultimately, when the imperial President declares a national emergency to formally acquire dictatorial powers and eliminate Congress as a separate, functioning arm of governance (straight out of the Nazi playbook). This would formally terminate America as a democratic republic operating under the rule of law and the will of the people.

Other institutional markers might be noted but this will do. Initial steps have been taken in each of these areas. Unless stopped, the processes of extending control and unraveling our Constitutional protections will increase in speed and substance. Then, at some point, it will be too late to turn things around.

And yet, there is one critical dimension that is the most fundamental of all. It involves our core values. When public functions are slashed in the patently false claim of eliminating waste and abuse, we either acquiese or stand up. There is no waste and abuse when people start dying, when human suffering becomes intolerable, and when the very science we depend upon to advance civilization has been smashed. No, then all we have is the final destruction of what society needs most of all … empathy. At that point, we will have turned control over to a gang of narcissistic sociopaths. Society, in that moment, will be little more than a horrific Dickensian contest for superiority, a nation marked by the absence of any concern or caring for the vulnerable and the hopeful.

My fondest hope is that I will be dead at that point. I do not want to live in such a society. In short, I value empathy