Do Americans Have What It Takes to Stop Fascism? We're About to Find Out.

Photo by Courtney Hedger on Unsplash

America’s been in the news a lot lately. Maybe you’ve seen things.

Word on the street is that her best days are well behind her, that she’s clearly peaked, and that her demise is coming swiftly and decisively. They’re saying that the slide into the abyss is inexorable now. They’re saying her epitaph has already been written, and if we can get out, we should.

The question is: are they right? (Even if we are the “they”?)

If you’re anything like me, you vacillate back and forth between searing panic, crushing grief, and “To hell with this, I’m outta here,” middle finger disdain.

If we’re at all alike, you often feel like you’re more than halfway to crazy, because too many people around you seem either blissfully unaware or willfully indifferent to what’s happening.

If we are similarly wired, dozens of times a day you feel like shouting at strangers (or friends, neighbors, and loved ones), “Hey, do any of you people actually give a shit? Because now would be the shit-giving time.”

If we are at all kindred spirits, you, too, are wondering if Americans in 2025 are cut out to fight fascism.

I’ll be honest: lately, it’s hard to tell the truth for a living without devolving into a de-motivational speaker and risking becoming white noise to the very people you’re trying to reach. I get it.

I know how sick I am of thinking about the hellscape we’re in, and I’m sure that people reading my writing don’t need another person reminding them. But by the same token, I’d feel derelict in my duties by selling some feel-good bullshit, false hope elixir promising to quickly fix what ails us.

I know you don’t want me to sugarcoat anything, but I also know you can’t force down another bitter pill reminder of how perilously close to collapse our Republic is, either.

And that leaves you and me here together, rightfully pissed off, understandably alarmed, and wondering if there are enough people left who aren’t ready to call it a day yet.

And here’s the thing, friend: I really don’t know. I don’t know if America is capable of saving itself at this point in its history.

I worry that far too many people are determined to pretend the ship isn’t sinking, preferring to sedate themselves with binge-watching, online retail therapy, and news media boycotts so they can avoid the emotional flood coming until it’s too late.

Others, I fear, have been lulled into the temporary false sense of safety that privilege affords, one that doesn’t allow them to feel alarm until the pain becomes personal, and that, as long as someone else is bearing the brunt of the brutality, it’s not their concern.

Still others are just plain lazy and selfish, having lived for most of their lives in relative ease and opulence, that they’ve become emotionally soft, lacking the intestinal fortitude to dig any deeper than enduring a minor inconvenience.

And that all seems to point to the disheartening conclusion that we’re not collectively capable of the painful, exhausting, sacrificial work that saving oneself from a fascist regime requires.

But, then I remember that there are people like you out there: heartbroken, fed-up, dug-in bastards who are stubborn and crazy enough to be reading (or writing) this, who may not know exactly what to do but are doing whatever they can. I remind myself that though I wish I were in greater company, I’m not alone in this.

And really, the only option at this point is for us to seek out those similarly burdened and see if there are enough of us left to unf*ck this place.

In the absence of knowing how the story ends, all we can do is to say the hard words where hard words don’t usually make it, confront people’s comfort and rattle the cages of their privilege, and leverage our circles of influence, giving them a hug around the neck or a kick in the behind, whichever they most need. The only option we have now is to give all we can and see what we’re left with when the dust settles.

The beauty of the question of whether or not Americans have what it takes to stop fascism is that very soon, we’re going to get our answer.

And on the way, you and I, those who hope like hell we do, are gonna speak our piece.

Be encouraged.

What do you think? Are we collectively capable of pushing back this fascist regime, and if so, how can it be done? Let me know in the comments.