OUR USA TODAY
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The Shame of Military Parades in a Supposed Democracy
This writer has taken a vow never to utter the name of the criminal occupying the highest office in this nation. That silence is not born of cowardice, but of conscience. To speak the name of a man who has dragged American values through the mire, who has desecrated democratic norms and enthroned cruelty and spectacle, is to dignify what ought to be rejected outright. But some acts are so appalling, so grotesquely symbolic of the rot at the heart of our national discourse, that they demand open condemnation. One such act is the grotesque display of power known as a military parade. forced upon the streets of Washington, D.C., in an echo of the very fascist regimes we once fought to defeat.
Let us be clear: military parades are not displays of patriotism; they are performances of authoritarianism. They are designed to instill fear, awe, and obedience. They belong not in free republics, but in states where freedom is silenced and dissent punished. From Mussolini’s Rome to Kim Jong-un’s Pyongyang, military parades serve one purpose: to exalt the state, deify the leader, and suppress the people. That this tradition now takes place in the capital of the United States is nothing short of a national disgrace.
The sight of tanks rumbling down Constitution Avenue, fighter jets screaming overhead, and soldiers marching in lockstep does not speak of liberty; it mocks it. It sends a chilling message: that brute force is now the face of our republic. It glorifies the machinery of war over the ideals of peace. It substitutes spectacle for substance. What once would have been unthinkable under presidents who respected the civilian character of American government is now staged with pride, as if this were some banana republic desperate to prove its power.
This writer feels not pride but nausea at such a display. The pageantry of militarism is not only an insult to the principles of American democracy, but also an insult to those who serve. The armed forces deserve honor, yes—but not as props in a dictator’s dream. Soldiers do not enlist to march past a grandstand for the pleasure of a demagogue; they serve to protect the Constitution. To co-opt their loyalty and bravery into a hollow procession for the cameras is to degrade their sacrifice.
There is a difference between honoring the military and using it. A sober wreath-laying at Arlington honors. A solemn speech on Memorial Day honors. But a parade, this kind of parade is not honor. It is exploitation. It is using uniformed men and women as instruments in a theatrical performance aimed not at celebrating the country, but at aggrandizing one man’s ego.
This writer is embarrassed, deeply, painfully embarrassed to say he is an American when such scenes unfold. To see the nation descend into a parody of the regimes we once condemned is to witness a collapse not just of tradition, but of moral clarity. Where once we led by example, now we mimic the worst examples history has to offer.
This is not who we are. Or, at least, it should not be. America’s greatness has never been measured in missiles or tanks, but in the strength of its ideals: freedom, justice, and equality under law. To trade those in for a fleeting spectacle of martial power is not only a betrayal of our past; it is a warning of what future we are barreling toward.
So let us speak plainly: parading the military in the streets of Washington, D.C. is not patriotic. It is not American. It is fascism, thinly veiled in red, white, and blue. And every citizen who still believes in the republic must say so loudly, clearly, and without apology.
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TRUMP MUST STOP ATTACKING OUR DEMOCRACY
In the political life of a nation, democratic erosion rarely happens in a single moment of crisis. More often, it is a gradual process, cloaked in legalism, normalized by propaganda, and carried forward by apathy or misplaced loyalty. In recent years, the United States has exhibited an increasing number of signs associated with fascist political structures. This is not to say that the country has become a fascist regime in the traditional sense, but the tendencies are too clear and too frequent to be ignored. The features of a creeping authoritarianism—once unthinkable in a nation that sees itself as the guardian of global democracy are now becoming routine.
Fascism in the 20th century was defined by authoritarian nationalism, militarization, suppression of dissent, propaganda, the erosion of legal norms, and the consolidation of power under a charismatic strongman. In modern America, these elements are not only present but often celebrated by a significant portion of the political class and public. When a former president, who led a violent insurrection against the peaceful transfer of power, remains the leading candidate for reelection and is treated by millions as a political messiah, the rule of law itself is thrown into question. His repeated assertion that he is above the law, coupled with demands for “retribution” against political enemies, is precisely the kind of rhetoric that historically precedes totalitarian rule.
Perhaps the most disquieting development in recent months has been the judicial flirtation with the idea that a president may enjoy sweeping immunity from criminal prosecution, even for actions that subvert the Constitution. The very fact that the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments about whether a president can be criminally prosecuted for actions taken while in office is, in itself, a sign of institutional degradation. In fascist regimes, the judiciary becomes either an accomplice or a prisoner of executive power. If the Court rules that a president is above the law for so-called “official acts,” it will mark the death knell of constitutional accountability. In such a world, an American president could conceivably use the military against civilians, order assassinations of political opponents, or commit crimes under the guise of governance, all without legal consequence.
This normalization of lawlessness is paired with the strategic destruction of public trust in every institution that could hold power accountable. The media is denounced as “fake news,” judges are labeled “Obama appointees” or “enemies,” the intelligence community is portrayed as a “deep state,” and any election result not favoring the authoritarian candidate is dismissed as fraudulent. This is a classic fascist strategy: discredit all independent sources of truth until the only authority is the leader himself. Once a population no longer believes in facts, it becomes malleable and vulnerable to any narrative fed to it, no matter how absurd or dangerous.
The U.S. has also witnessed the growing use of state power to suppress dissent. Peaceful protestors have been brutalized by militarized police forces using equipment once reserved for warzones. Laws are being passed in Republican led states that criminalize protests, restrict the freedom of assembly, and empower the state to investigate or punish individuals based on ideological association. Simultaneously, the political narrative has shifted to paint dissent as unpatriotic, traitorous, or even terrorist in nature. Under the guise of “law and order,” the state is being weaponized to silence critics and control political discourse, an unmistakable symptom of rising fascism.
Another defining trait of fascist systems is the identification and persecution of scapegoats. In the United States, immigrants, particularly those from Latin America and Muslim countries have been turned into convenient targets. Families have been torn apart, children placed in cages, and entire populations branded as criminals, rapists, or invaders. This is not mere policy failure; it is ideological theater, designed to stoke fear, consolidate power, and dehumanize the vulnerable. These narratives are then echoed across right-wing media outlets that function more as propaganda arms than as independent journalists, reinforcing the cult of fear and obedience.
What further accelerates the fascist drift is the consolidation of executive power, often aided by a feckless or complicit legislature. Executive orders have increasingly replaced congressional legislation as the principal mode of governance. Bipartisan consensus has become impossible, not because of ideological difference, but because the democratic process itself is being sabotaged by those who do not believe in pluralism. In fascist regimes, parliaments are rendered ceremonial. In the United States, Congress is gradually becoming irrelevant, either gridlocked by design or held hostage by radical factions who oppose democracy itself.
The economic dimension of fascism also bears examination. Classical fascist regimes worked closely with big business, creating a corporatist state where the wealthiest served the ruling party’s agenda in exchange for protection and favoritism. In the U.S., corporate oligarchy already dominates policy-making. A handful of billionaires control the bulk of media, campaign financing, and political lobbying. Economic inequality is not merely tolerated; it is entrenched as the natural order. This creates a society where millions are disillusioned and desperate, providing fertile ground for authoritarian promises of security and greatness.
The cult of personality around Donald Trump illustrates how fascist movements rely on a charismatic figure who presents himself as the sole savior of the nation. Trump’s supporters excuse or even embrace his criminality, vulgarity, and abuse of power because they have been conditioned to see him not as a fallible human leader, but as a messianic figure sent to destroy the corrupt establishment and restore their version of order. This abandonment of critical thought in favor of loyalty to a single man is both tragic and terrifying. It mirrors precisely how democracies in the past have fallen into tyranny.
The United States is not yet a fascist state, but it is no longer accurate to describe it as a fully functioning liberal democracy either. The trajectory is clear: a government where power is concentrated in the executive; where truth is replaced by ideology; where opposition is criminalized; where the judiciary defers to the ruler; where elections are undermined; and where entire populations are dehumanized. These are not abstract warnings. They are the exact ingredients that allowed fascism to flourish in Germany, Italy, Spain, and elsewhere.
The survival of American democracy now hinges not only on elections but on the moral courage of its citizens, the independence of its institutions, and the refusal to be silent in the face of authoritarian ambition. The Constitution cannot defend itself. It is merely a framework. What sustains it are the people who believe in it, fight for it, and refuse to surrender it to those who seek power without accountability.