A Declaration of Independence From Fear

Cruelty, including a lust for vengeance, largely defines President Donald Trump’s character. And with an enemies list that is nearly limitless, he will never lack for targets. Among his self-declared enemies is the entire Democratic Party. Democrats, according to Trump, are a radical, evil, and dangerous lot. Going a step further, he has also declared that Democrats “are the party of hate, evil, and Satan.” The same goes for the political left in general. To Trump’s mind, all these people, representing approximately half of the nation’s population based upon election results, are evil and deserve punishment. They are, as Trump tells us, the enemy within.

But it would be a mistake to assume vengeance is Trump’s ultimate goal. Yes, he is vindictive, and, yes, he enjoys hurting people who he feels crossed him; but he clearly also has grander dreams. His quite transparent goal, one he shares with other authoritarian leaders, is spreading fear: fear of arrest, fear of unjustified prosecution, fear of becoming the target of a federal investigation leading to ruinous legal fees, fear of losing one’s job, fear of being harassed online.

The ultimate point of this, of course, is to frighten his opponents to the point they will back down and remain silent.

Fear is a powerful weapon in the hands of an authoritarian, something Trump and MAGA are proving every day. In the age of Trump, fear can cause people to think twice before speaking out, avoid taking part in peaceful protests, and dropping out of political advocacy altogether. Locking their political doors, pulling down the shades, and hiding.

Donald Trump has made his position clear: Only Democrats and other Trump resisters need worry about federal prosecution.

You can almost smell the fear. It saturates the air around us. And it is working in just the way Trump and his flunkies intended. A politically engaged progressive woman I know recently told me that she had stopped posting political comments on Bluesky or otherwise making political statements. She was afraid that one day she would be punished, or even physically attacked, for speaking her mind.

A man I know slightly, let’s call him Ben, excitedly posted the news that he had accepted employment in a leadership position with a local progressive organization. Shortly after posting this message, Ben received an email from someone he didn’t know suggesting that he should rethink that decision. The man sending the email also said that he knew both Ben’s address and Ben’s daughter’s address. He then included the two addresses in the email to show he wasn’t bluffing. With his family threatened, Ben decided to pass on the job.

Trump has repeatedly said that his political opponents are evil and deserve to be prosecuted and jailed. On occasion he will even suggest they should be executed. On other occasions he says things that seem calculated to encourage his supporters to use violence against those who oppose him. A few examples: “If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously, okay? Just knock the hell—I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. I promise, I promise.”

Here is another oldie but goodie: “I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump—I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad.”

While there are, of course, other examples of Donald Trump suggesting that the use of violence against his opponents is justified, let’s end with one very recent comment: "It's gonna get worse, and ultimately it's gonna go back on them (the political left). Bad things happen when they play these games. I'll give you a little clue—the right is a lot tougher than the left."

Trump has also made it clear that his followers have little reason to worry about being prosecuted for crimes they commit, at least at the federal level. All that is needed is for the Trump sycophants embedded at the top of the Justice Department to quietly end the investigation or dismiss the charges, something they have been doing with troubling frequency. If that doesn’t happen, Trump can simply pardon the offenders as he has also done often, most notoriously pardoning everyone who took part in the riot at the capital on January 6, including those who viciously assaulted capital police officers.

Donald Trump has made his position clear: Only Democrats and other Trump resisters need worry about federal prosecution. Democratic politicians who have rubbed him the wrong way are to be prosecuted whether or not there is evidence to support the charges. Republican politicians and anyone else who supports Trump, on the other hand, are untouchable.

The message this sends to his most ardent supporters could not be clearer. If you engage in lawless, even violent, actions against his opponents, you need not worry. He has your back.

Given this state of play, it would be foolhardy for any Trump critic to not at least consider the possibility of blowback. I will admit that even with my exceedingly small footprint, making me an unlikely initial target, I have moments of fear thinking about what will happen to me if Trump succeeds in completing his apparent goal of establishing a totalitarian form of governance in America, with him in charge.

The truth is, Trump is already well along in consolidating power into his own hands. It only took a few months for Trump to destroy our vaunted Separation of Powers. So far, at least, neither the Republican-controlled Congress nor our current ultra-conservative Supreme Court have raised a finger to fight back in defense of democracy. Every day the darkness enveloping this nation seems to grow darker.

So, yes, I will confess to moments of fear which have led to thoughts of backing away from speaking out on political issues. I have enough problems already, I have told myself, do I really want to get involved with all this? But I always come back to the same thing. If we have any chance of saving our Republic, and I believe we do, that chance will have to come from the public itself. And it will take all of us.

This essay then is my personal Declaration of Independence from fear. A commitment I am making to myself to never allow fear to stop me from speaking out. Because on the day one too many Americans have given in to their fears and withdrawn from the defense of democracy, the cause is lost.