The Boot Heel of Authoritarianism

Is on the Neck of America’s Democracy 

By: Melinda Moulton

1.26.26

My phone rang at 6 a.m. in the morning. I ignored it. When I clicked on my voicemail, I heard the voice of a man saying “Melinda, we know where you are, ICE is coming for you, we are at your door, you cannot hide”. I thought it was a joke. But after a few minutes I realized this was no joke. I immediately blocked this UNKNOWN CALLER. My next reaction was anger…then defiance. I have written before about the rise of Authoritarianism in the United States, but it is no longer rising – it is here. Germany was taken over by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945. It was a Democratic Government albeit a weak one. That said, Hitler was able to turn the German people against each other, terrorizing citizens with his gestapo – secret police -  and concentration camps. – detention centers. He spewed propaganda,  tore down Germany’s democratic institutions, and spread fear and terror throughout the countryside. Hitler created from Germany’s democracy a dictatorship with one party rule. Hitler had an ideology predicated to creating an Aryan Race and it unified the nation and allowed his brownshirts to target minority groups. The Nazi regime took absolute control over the citizenry of Germany. Hitler targeted Jews, Roma and Sinti, people with disabilities, the Slavic people, Soviet prisoners of war, communists, socialists, social democrats, and trade unionists. He went after LGBT citizens, beggars, vagrants, alcoholics and those he labeled “professional criminals”. African and Afro-Germans were sterilized or murdered, and Polish intellectuals, teachers, clergy were attacked in order to destroy Polish culture. So let us  look at the MAGA movement, Project 2025, and Trumpism in 2026. Donald Trump uses his pulpit with the help of Fox News to spread lies. He calls his political opponents’ “vermin”. He claims that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of America”. Trump for years has attacked minority groups and political rivals and continues to diminish their value. He threatens our safety to live peacefully protected by the rights put forth in our Constitution.  The entire Make America Great Again anthem echoes Hitler’s call to regain the past greatness of Germany. Trump constantly attacks the press, calls it “fake news” a “witch hunt” and tells reporters to “shut up piggy”. He has sued our TV Networks, Print News Media, Universities, Law Firms, anyone who threatens his authoritarianism. He does this to scare and intimidate and to bend everyone’s will to his own.  We are seeing the horrific results – day after day after day, Trump demands absolute loyalty from “everyone”. This mirrors  Hitler’s “Fuhrerprinzip” the totalitarian tenet of Nazi ideology; the absolute power and obedience to “The Leaders”. Trump is constantly challenging the rule of law, our Constitution, and our governmental norms. We are seeing Trump’s efforts to take over other countries, demean our allies, kiss up to dictators, and I believe, gone so far as to share American military secrets with Russia.  His Board of Peace has been created to establish a new worldwide order which will cement Trump’s control over world affairs. It is a transactional organization requiring a billion dollars to join.  This money will not go to help American citizens; it is being funneled to a bank in Quatar. The Board of Peace is basically a Trump-owned United States Company with Trump as the permanent chairman and major shareholder. This is a Kleptocratic Oligarchy – a form of government known as “ruled by thieves”. They will “expropriate national wealth and resources for their own personal enrichment. Trump is deranged, delusional, dying, and a traitor to our Constitution. That said, he is effective, entertaining, influential, and holds tremendous power. As the leader of the richest country on the planet with the largest and strongest military, Trump sits on America’s throne – for a bloody second time. The Don will overthrow, steal, and pocket all that has truly Made America Great these past 250 years, that which so many died to protect - the most prized of all human gifts ……OUR FREEDOM.  He wants that.  Let’s face it Trump is a FASCIST Leader. The political violence we are seeing on American streets by our Federal Government’s Homeland Security ICE thugs is Fascism. Trump is building his own GESTAPO – his own secret police force made up of Proud Boys and MAGA cult followers that subscribe to his hatred of “others”. His Detainment Centers are Concentration Camps which imprison, exploit, and punish specific groups. What stopped Hitler was World War Two when the most powerful nations on Earth came together to defeat him. I am not sure what will stop Trump and his MAGA cult from destroying our country, our freedoms, and our planet. The boot heel of Authoritarianism is solidly on the Neck of America’s Democracy and it will take the people of our great nation to remove it and place it solidly and forever upon the neck of Trump and his sycophants. Congress could impeach Trump, but the GOP controls Congress. We have a Supreme Court majority that is complicit with Trump’s actions. All three GOP led branches of our Government are crapping all over our Constitution. So, perhaps all of this falls to the individual States. They need to defy the Federal Government – they need to uphold the rule of law and the Constitution and go to court again and again. The problem here is that Trump is not following the courts’ rulings if they are not in his favor. He just throws up his middle finger and growls “F-U” to our Judiciary. So that is where we come in, We The People of the United States – we are the last resort. We need to keep standing up, speaking out, engaging in community action events. We must vote in huge numbers and participate in opposition events and organizations. Financially support groups like ACLU, NAACP, Legal Defense Fund, Common Cause and other pro-Democracy groups. Contact your elected representatives and participate in local organizing. Use your voice online and offline and support independent media. Stay informed and challenge false information. And to the bad guy who left me that threatening message on my phone, you don’t scare me, you embolden me, you inspire me to fight back, you are a coward, and I am flattered that you are threatened by me because I know that in the end “good” always wins out.  

-Melinda Moulton