King, or Dictator?

Let’s look at a few definitions:

1. Dictator: “A ruler with total power over a country, typically one who has obtained control by force.”
2. Autocrat: “A ruler who has absolute power; someone who insists on complete obedience from others.”
3. Fascism: “A far-right authoritarian ultranationalist political ideology characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society and the economy. Key elements include a cult of the leader (i.e. Trump and his MAGATS), hyper-nationalism (Christian Nationalism), militarism (activation of the National Guard and ICE to terrorize American Cities), the use of violence (ICE), and widespread propaganda and news suppression (social media, AI, Fox news, Kristina Leavitt, etc.) to advance and manipulate facts and stories to confuse the public and secure compliance.
4. Fascist: “A fascist is a person who believes in or supports fascism. (See #3 above.)
5. Anti-fascist: “A person who is opposed to fascism and right-wing authoritarianism.”
6. Patriot: a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors.“
7. King: “The male ruler of an independent state, especially one who inherits the position by right of birth.”

I’m puzzled. Why are the protests against Trump and the Republican Right-Wing Christian Nationalist Regime being called “No Kings” protests? Trump is a dictator. An autocratic fascist dictator. Like Hitler. Like Mussolini. Like Putin. Like Kim Jong Un. “Dictator” is the correct definition and has the appropriate negative connotation for what he is, and MAGATS is the correct term for his supporters who are trying to eat what’s left of the carcass of the democratic Republic called America from the inside out, as maggots do.

Elected officials, namely congressional Republicans, are part of Trump’s regime and have aided and abetted the over-throw of the American government from the inside every step of the way, as have the conservative justices in the Supreme Court and the hand-picked Presidential Cabinet members, all groups that were supposed to prevent this sort of thing from happening in the first place. Yet here we are. Everywhere you look, there is high treason within our government: “the crime of betraying one’s country, especially by attempting to overthrow the government.

So, once again, I ask you, what is Trump? He is NOT a King, and he is NOT an anti-fascist, and he is NOT a patriot. But he IS an autocratic fascist dictator, isn’t he. He says so himself! What he and his cronies in the government are doing in full view is overthrowing our democratic government – with its checks and balances – from the inside out. Why? In order to pillage the treasury and concentrate power in the hands of a few. This is treason of the highest order, and none of it could be happening were it not for the full support of all the Republican Party leaders, the conservative Supreme Court justices, and Trump’s hand-picked cabinet. Not to mention the voters who put him there for a second time, knowing the risk.

Every single individual who resides within the boundaries of the United States of America and has benefitted from living here in our democratic Republic should be against fascism and dictatorial regimes. We sent 417,000 American men to their deaths in World War II defending against a German fascist dictator and a regime that led to the deaths of over 50 million people, a regime that did exactly what is happening in the United States today. Hitler took control of Germany from inside the government. That happened only ninety years ago. One lifetime.

By definition, any American who describes him/herself as an American must be against fascism and against the overthrow of the American democracy. One cannot claim to be an American and simultaneously support a fascist regime in America. We fought to free the world from fascism in World War II. At what additional cost was the spilling of the blood of our soldiers if it was all in vain, if those dead soldiers and civilians are now today spat upon and betrayed by their own people? This is what Trump and his criminal cohort have brought upon us. Take a few minutes and think about that.

Fascists and dictators are enemies of the democratic Republic we call the United States. Those who support the dictator and are caught up in the cult of personality he has created, by supporting the tactics of him and his powerful backers, are supporting fascism and are therefore fascists.

If you supported Trump and his cronies in this last election, and continue to do so, you are a fascist – an enemy of the concept of what America is supposed to be – a free democratic Republic where people can pursue life, liberty, and happiness and live without fear in a just society. If you are a Christian Nationalist supporting Trump and the criminals he has put in positions of power then you are a fascist and not a Christian. You can’t be both.

History is important here, and those of you who slept through World Government and Social Studies in high school and college are part of the problem. This is no time to be politically ignorant. Yet most Americans are so badly educated they don’t know the difference between a democracy and a dictatorship, or fascism and anti-fascism. My parents were alive during World War II. They survived on the food they raised on their farms in Iowa, along with government ration coupons to buy salt, sugar, and other home necessities. All able-bodied young men left to fight the war against fascism. The women were left behind to take up their jobs and manage the war economy. Everyone sacrificed the comforts of daily life to make sure America stopped the advance of Hitler and Mussolini, the world’s worst destructive dictator duo. That war was a near-death experience for democracy and the entire civilized world, as it killed millions. The Americans who fought against the spread of fascism and brought down the European dictators were heroic beyond measure. How could we have collectively forgotten this?

Today there are 350 million people in the United States. Trump and the MAGATS are demanding full suppression and oppression of all Americans who defy the Trump regime, which is at least half the population. They want to shut up the defenders of democracy so badly they are willing to put soldiers on the streets to shoot them, gas them, beat them, detain them, arrest them, kidnap them, and put them in concentration camps. They are delighted to pass laws to suppress and oppress women and minorities, willing to impose their vicious version of Christianity on every aspect of our lives as Americans, willing to crash the economy, and willing to destroy whatever they must to keep their little idol – Trump – and his powerful idiot sycophants in charge so they can finish the rape of America. We have seen this before, and we know how it ends. This is fascism in full display. Take a hard look. None of us will escape unscathed from this mess.

To those of you who support Trump and his minions: You are not the good Americans you think you are. You are not patriots; you are not Christian; you are not good neighbors. You are harming people deliberately, indirectly if not directly. And if you refuse to see when you are being shown the true nature of what is happening, you are not good people. All of you are here as a result of immigration; you or your ancestors relied on this country to take you in when you needed a chance. All of you have had freedom here in America because of its democratic government structure and the collective willingness of our people to help humanity. All of you were once proud to be a part of that.

Freedom isn’t free. Many have been oppressed by our Christian White heterosexual male dominated government. The American democracy needs fixing; it’s not living up to its own ideals. We need a new constitution that is updated for modern cultural and societal expectations. We need term limits. We need all religions removed from government. We need honesty and integrity in our leaders. We cannot have criminal activity of any sort within the government. Our constitution and government structure has not kept up with the changes in our society – there’s no question of that. However, replacing it with a fascist regime under a fascist dictator is not the answer. We have to put a stop to this. All of us together have to do it, no matter what our political affiliation, our religious affiliation, our ethnic identification, and etc. We are – as a group – Americans, including those without papers who are living here and contributing to our society and communities. We are all here for the same reason – to live a free, just, and fair life. The minute we decide such a life is only for specific groups of people, we have lost the thread of democracy, and even morality, neither of which can exist within a fascist dictatorship.

The opposite of being “woke” is being “asleep.” Many of you reading this are sleeping right through the most dangerous political situation this country has ever seen. The thing we call America will cease to exist if you don’t wake up. It’s as simple as that, and I believe it may already be too late. The dictator has taken the reigns of almost everything in the country already. Nevertheless, pick up the phone. Pick up a pen. Call your state and federal representatives and let them know you’ve had it with this fiasco. Write them. Make waves. Vote. Write opinion pieces. Flood the internet with videos of what is happening on the streets. Look around. Do whatever you can to bring attention to the danger we are in.

To the “No Kings” organizers, it’s time to change the name of the protests to “No Dictators.” Correctly name what has happened and give it the proper gravity. Stop with the “King” moniker – Kings are benign. Trump is a dictator of his own admission. When someone shows you who they are, believe them! Calling him a “King” is like putting lipstick on a pig. Say what he actually is; say it loud and clear. Put it on your signs. Call a spade a spade.

NO DICTATORS.