Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) campaigns with Democratic US Senate candidate, Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon, during a Fighting Oligarchy Tour campaign stop at The Cuban Club Courtyard on October 17, 2026 in Tampa, Florida.
MAGA and the Myth of Inevitability
While destruction and great loss has occurred in President Donald Trump’s second presidential administration, it does not mean that it is inevitable that it will continue to occur in perpetuity. The midterms give social movements a chance to fight back.
“Nothing is inevitable but everything is possible.” My friend and comrade once said that in reference to the vibrant movement moment of the Black Lives Matter uprisings after the heinous Minneapolis police murder of George Floyd.
These words have been a mantra for me since I read them. Like many of you, I’m terrified of the state of the world and my country's role in its suffering. When I consume the news, take a tally of the rights our people have lost, and hold the memory of those who are no longer here, I am at times resigned to believe that “it’s over” and that “nothing matters.” When the onslaught is constant, giving up becomes alluring.
Hope is a necessary and useful tool for our social movements in the struggle against authoritarianism. My attempt here is to share my perspective on possibility and the role it plays in tumultuous times like these.
Winning this election means stopping authoritarian consolidation within our government, which clears the way for defeating the MAGA movement for a second time in the 2028 presidential election.
Authoritarianism always tries to abolish memory—capitalist, patriarchal, white supremacist, evangelical Christian, fascist imperialists want us to be trapped in their now. As if their now is inevitable. Authoritarianism wants us to believe that only one thing is happening.
While destruction and great loss has occurred in President Donald Trump’s second presidential administration, it does not mean that it is inevitable that it will continue to occur in perpetuity. Since the colonists first came to this land, horror has followed. And so have miraculous acts of resistance, political gains, and life-altering wins. That’s because human beings chose resistance and strategy in the face of oppression. Abolitionist movements of the past engaged in highly sophisticated, multi-century, strategic political struggle to free enslaved Black people from bondage (movements composed of enslaved people and abolitionists like Fredrick Douglas). In hindsight, people over and over again made the conscious choice to engage in the long arc of protracted struggle.
Nothing; not a moment, administration, movement, law, nor empire lasts forever, nor is any of it inevitable. Or more relevant to the point I’m trying to make, nothing is one thing constantly and always. Change will occur. History is never one note. There are variations over time and in those variations are the inspirations for interventions where dominant ideas are changed. These changes, or fluctuations and fissures, are opportunities of possibility to exploit to use against our enemy.
Capitalist, patriarchal, white supremacist, evangelical Christian, fascist imperialists want us afraid and isolated. We are facing a multi-pronged attack. MAGA and billionaire oligarchs are launching attacks in a variety of ways. Using electoral intimidation and rigging, tech over-dependence and surveillance, and right-wing takeovers of media through monopolization, to name a few. Billions of dollars are being spent to keep us apart and to internalize a false narrative: “It’s over,” “Nothing matters."
This false narrative of the inevitable has begun to make its way into some contemporary American movies. Movies like Don’t Look Up, A House of Dynamite, and Bugonia. All were released within a few years of one another, the latter two came out the same year (2025). Each of these movies come to similar fatalistic conclusions: Doom is inevitable.
This is not true, but it does serve a strategic purpose. This fatalistic view is both a real felt experience of perceived reality and a constructed reality, created by fascists and tech oligarchs. David Ellison’s purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery into Skydance Media to form the far-right Skydance Corporation is Trump’s fascist administration controlling the narrative (literally by having the reins to CNN, TikTok, HBO, and movie studios like Warner Bros.) to attempt to further sow disillusionment toward sociopolitical change, hopelessness, and a belief that MAGA is invulnerable.
I am not arguing a promise. “Change” and "possibility” are neutral. Neither is inherently good for our social movements or means sure defeat for the opposition. Change and possibility do not mean that things will get better tomorrow or that things will only get worse forever. Octavia Butler teaches us through her writing that the only lasting truth is change. This onslaught will end, the impact we’re being hit with by this administration will stop. Though the consequences of those blows will linger. As a result of this administration's actions, suffering will continue, people will continue to die. Whether that lasts a few years or many decades, at least in part, is dependent upon what our social movements do when an opportunity presents itself to strike our own blow(s). I see these midterm elections as one of those opportunities. Elections are strategic interventions. Winning this election means stopping authoritarian consolidation within our government, which clears the way for defeating the MAGA movement for a second time in the 2028 presidential election.
A far-right authoritarian political movement (MAGA) is controlling the government. In other words, the United States has a fascist federal government. Democrats and Working Families Party candidates winning a majority in the House and Senate will shorten the reach of this fascist administration. That matters. Like it mattered for Black people not to be considered three-fifths of a human in the Constitution, like it mattered when Roe v. Wade was won, and how having political power matters to ensure a sitting congressperson’s house isn’t raided. The MAGA movement is positioning itself toward one-party, minority rule that can't be challenged through democratic channels (that is fascism). Disenfranchising voters serves authoritarianism. Losing the midterm elections serves the strategy of our enemy.
Our social movements are tasked with quelling the further consolidation of power of this authoritarian regime.
Y’all, our social movements need to win majorities in the US House and Senate to slow the rise of fascist law. Races like Angie Nixon in Florida, Melat Kiros in Colorado, Will Lawrence in Michigan, and Justin Pearson in Tennessee are so important for building a line of defense to save our lives.
Fascism is here. The position we find ourselves in isn’t one that sets us up for immediate liberation. The fight of the rest of this decade is to defang authoritarianism.
There is a difference between forever and experiencing the current reality. History tells us that forever does not exist in the political sphere. We are swimming in the waters of this decade's dialectics, wading in the multiple truths of our given moment in time. Contradictions can be generative if strategy leads the decisions of our social movements when opportunities present themselves.
Some things are inevitable. If my phone slips out of my hand it will fall. Gravity ensures that. Fascism is a powerful force, but it is not gravity.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. In a few short weeks, US voters will have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
“Nothing is inevitable but everything is possible.” My friend and comrade once said that in reference to the vibrant movement moment of the Black Lives Matter uprisings after the heinous Minneapolis police murder of George Floyd.
These words have been a mantra for me since I read them. Like many of you, I’m terrified of the state of the world and my country's role in its suffering. When I consume the news, take a tally of the rights our people have lost, and hold the memory of those who are no longer here, I am at times resigned to believe that “it’s over” and that “nothing matters.” When the onslaught is constant, giving up becomes alluring.
Hope is a necessary and useful tool for our social movements in the struggle against authoritarianism. My attempt here is to share my perspective on possibility and the role it plays in tumultuous times like these.
Winning this election means stopping authoritarian consolidation within our government, which clears the way for defeating the MAGA movement for a second time in the 2028 presidential election.
Authoritarianism always tries to abolish memory—capitalist, patriarchal, white supremacist, evangelical Christian, fascist imperialists want us to be trapped in their now. As if their now is inevitable. Authoritarianism wants us to believe that only one thing is happening.
While destruction and great loss has occurred in President Donald Trump’s second presidential administration, it does not mean that it is inevitable that it will continue to occur in perpetuity. Since the colonists first came to this land, horror has followed. And so have miraculous acts of resistance, political gains, and life-altering wins. That’s because human beings chose resistance and strategy in the face of oppression. Abolitionist movements of the past engaged in highly sophisticated, multi-century, strategic political struggle to free enslaved Black people from bondage (movements composed of enslaved people and abolitionists like Fredrick Douglas). In hindsight, people over and over again made the conscious choice to engage in the long arc of protracted struggle.
Nothing; not a moment, administration, movement, law, nor empire lasts forever, nor is any of it inevitable. Or more relevant to the point I’m trying to make, nothing is one thing constantly and always. Change will occur. History is never one note. There are variations over time and in those variations are the inspirations for interventions where dominant ideas are changed. These changes, or fluctuations and fissures, are opportunities of possibility to exploit to use against our enemy.
Capitalist, patriarchal, white supremacist, evangelical Christian, fascist imperialists want us afraid and isolated. We are facing a multi-pronged attack. MAGA and billionaire oligarchs are launching attacks in a variety of ways. Using electoral intimidation and rigging, tech over-dependence and surveillance, and right-wing takeovers of media through monopolization, to name a few. Billions of dollars are being spent to keep us apart and to internalize a false narrative: “It’s over,” “Nothing matters."
This false narrative of the inevitable has begun to make its way into some contemporary American movies. Movies like Don’t Look Up, A House of Dynamite, and Bugonia. All were released within a few years of one another, the latter two came out the same year (2025). Each of these movies come to similar fatalistic conclusions: Doom is inevitable.
This is not true, but it does serve a strategic purpose. This fatalistic view is both a real felt experience of perceived reality and a constructed reality, created by fascists and tech oligarchs. David Ellison’s purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery into Skydance Media to form the far-right Skydance Corporation is Trump’s fascist administration controlling the narrative (literally by having the reins to CNN, TikTok, HBO, and movie studios like Warner Bros.) to attempt to further sow disillusionment toward sociopolitical change, hopelessness, and a belief that MAGA is invulnerable.
I am not arguing a promise. “Change” and "possibility” are neutral. Neither is inherently good for our social movements or means sure defeat for the opposition. Change and possibility do not mean that things will get better tomorrow or that things will only get worse forever. Octavia Butler teaches us through her writing that the only lasting truth is change. This onslaught will end, the impact we’re being hit with by this administration will stop. Though the consequences of those blows will linger. As a result of this administration's actions, suffering will continue, people will continue to die. Whether that lasts a few years or many decades, at least in part, is dependent upon what our social movements do when an opportunity presents itself to strike our own blow(s). I see these midterm elections as one of those opportunities. Elections are strategic interventions. Winning this election means stopping authoritarian consolidation within our government, which clears the way for defeating the MAGA movement for a second time in the 2028 presidential election.
A far-right authoritarian political movement (MAGA) is controlling the government. In other words, the United States has a fascist federal government. Democrats and Working Families Party candidates winning a majority in the House and Senate will shorten the reach of this fascist administration. That matters. Like it mattered for Black people not to be considered three-fifths of a human in the Constitution, like it mattered when Roe v. Wade was won, and how having political power matters to ensure a sitting congressperson’s house isn’t raided. The MAGA movement is positioning itself toward one-party, minority rule that can't be challenged through democratic channels (that is fascism). Disenfranchising voters serves authoritarianism. Losing the midterm elections serves the strategy of our enemy.
Our social movements are tasked with quelling the further consolidation of power of this authoritarian regime.
Y’all, our social movements need to win majorities in the US House and Senate to slow the rise of fascist law. Races like Angie Nixon in Florida, Melat Kiros in Colorado, Will Lawrence in Michigan, and Justin Pearson in Tennessee are so important for building a line of defense to save our lives.
Fascism is here. The position we find ourselves in isn’t one that sets us up for immediate liberation. The fight of the rest of this decade is to defang authoritarianism.
There is a difference between forever and experiencing the current reality. History tells us that forever does not exist in the political sphere. We are swimming in the waters of this decade's dialectics, wading in the multiple truths of our given moment in time. Contradictions can be generative if strategy leads the decisions of our social movements when opportunities present themselves.
Some things are inevitable. If my phone slips out of my hand it will fall. Gravity ensures that. Fascism is a powerful force, but it is not gravity.
“Nothing is inevitable but everything is possible.” My friend and comrade once said that in reference to the vibrant movement moment of the Black Lives Matter uprisings after the heinous Minneapolis police murder of George Floyd.
These words have been a mantra for me since I read them. Like many of you, I’m terrified of the state of the world and my country's role in its suffering. When I consume the news, take a tally of the rights our people have lost, and hold the memory of those who are no longer here, I am at times resigned to believe that “it’s over” and that “nothing matters.” When the onslaught is constant, giving up becomes alluring.
Hope is a necessary and useful tool for our social movements in the struggle against authoritarianism. My attempt here is to share my perspective on possibility and the role it plays in tumultuous times like these.
Winning this election means stopping authoritarian consolidation within our government, which clears the way for defeating the MAGA movement for a second time in the 2028 presidential election.
Authoritarianism always tries to abolish memory—capitalist, patriarchal, white supremacist, evangelical Christian, fascist imperialists want us to be trapped in their now. As if their now is inevitable. Authoritarianism wants us to believe that only one thing is happening.
While destruction and great loss has occurred in President Donald Trump’s second presidential administration, it does not mean that it is inevitable that it will continue to occur in perpetuity. Since the colonists first came to this land, horror has followed. And so have miraculous acts of resistance, political gains, and life-altering wins. That’s because human beings chose resistance and strategy in the face of oppression. Abolitionist movements of the past engaged in highly sophisticated, multi-century, strategic political struggle to free enslaved Black people from bondage (movements composed of enslaved people and abolitionists like Fredrick Douglas). In hindsight, people over and over again made the conscious choice to engage in the long arc of protracted struggle.
Nothing; not a moment, administration, movement, law, nor empire lasts forever, nor is any of it inevitable. Or more relevant to the point I’m trying to make, nothing is one thing constantly and always. Change will occur. History is never one note. There are variations over time and in those variations are the inspirations for interventions where dominant ideas are changed. These changes, or fluctuations and fissures, are opportunities of possibility to exploit to use against our enemy.
Capitalist, patriarchal, white supremacist, evangelical Christian, fascist imperialists want us afraid and isolated. We are facing a multi-pronged attack. MAGA and billionaire oligarchs are launching attacks in a variety of ways. Using electoral intimidation and rigging, tech over-dependence and surveillance, and right-wing takeovers of media through monopolization, to name a few. Billions of dollars are being spent to keep us apart and to internalize a false narrative: “It’s over,” “Nothing matters."
This false narrative of the inevitable has begun to make its way into some contemporary American movies. Movies like Don’t Look Up, A House of Dynamite, and Bugonia. All were released within a few years of one another, the latter two came out the same year (2025). Each of these movies come to similar fatalistic conclusions: Doom is inevitable.
This is not true, but it does serve a strategic purpose. This fatalistic view is both a real felt experience of perceived reality and a constructed reality, created by fascists and tech oligarchs. David Ellison’s purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery into Skydance Media to form the far-right Skydance Corporation is Trump’s fascist administration controlling the narrative (literally by having the reins to CNN, TikTok, HBO, and movie studios like Warner Bros.) to attempt to further sow disillusionment toward sociopolitical change, hopelessness, and a belief that MAGA is invulnerable.
I am not arguing a promise. “Change” and "possibility” are neutral. Neither is inherently good for our social movements or means sure defeat for the opposition. Change and possibility do not mean that things will get better tomorrow or that things will only get worse forever. Octavia Butler teaches us through her writing that the only lasting truth is change. This onslaught will end, the impact we’re being hit with by this administration will stop. Though the consequences of those blows will linger. As a result of this administration's actions, suffering will continue, people will continue to die. Whether that lasts a few years or many decades, at least in part, is dependent upon what our social movements do when an opportunity presents itself to strike our own blow(s). I see these midterm elections as one of those opportunities. Elections are strategic interventions. Winning this election means stopping authoritarian consolidation within our government, which clears the way for defeating the MAGA movement for a second time in the 2028 presidential election.
A far-right authoritarian political movement (MAGA) is controlling the government. In other words, the United States has a fascist federal government. Democrats and Working Families Party candidates winning a majority in the House and Senate will shorten the reach of this fascist administration. That matters. Like it mattered for Black people not to be considered three-fifths of a human in the Constitution, like it mattered when Roe v. Wade was won, and how having political power matters to ensure a sitting congressperson’s house isn’t raided. The MAGA movement is positioning itself toward one-party, minority rule that can't be challenged through democratic channels (that is fascism). Disenfranchising voters serves authoritarianism. Losing the midterm elections serves the strategy of our enemy.
Our social movements are tasked with quelling the further consolidation of power of this authoritarian regime.
Y’all, our social movements need to win majorities in the US House and Senate to slow the rise of fascist law. Races like Angie Nixon in Florida, Melat Kiros in Colorado, Will Lawrence in Michigan, and Justin Pearson in Tennessee are so important for building a line of defense to save our lives.
Fascism is here. The position we find ourselves in isn’t one that sets us up for immediate liberation. The fight of the rest of this decade is to defang authoritarianism.
There is a difference between forever and experiencing the current reality. History tells us that forever does not exist in the political sphere. We are swimming in the waters of this decade's dialectics, wading in the multiple truths of our given moment in time. Contradictions can be generative if strategy leads the decisions of our social movements when opportunities present themselves.
Some things are inevitable. If my phone slips out of my hand it will fall. Gravity ensures that. Fascism is a powerful force, but it is not gravity.