Fascism doesnāt come for every generation, but it has come for ours.
āThis is not a fight on the beaches of Normandy, but in our own country. This article begins a series on what opposing Donald Trump and his movement can look like. I hope you will join me as these progress.
For this article, I want to focus on how everyday Americans in the federal government can stand up to Donald Trump and his riotous misrule. When they entered public service, these patriotic men and women raised their right hand and made the following noble vow:
āI do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domesticā¦ā
A domestic enemy of the Constitution is poised to take the reins of the executive branch, and civil servants will soon be on the front lines opposing Donald Trumpās quest for dictatorial power. In his first term, senior officials ā āthe adults in the roomā ā often restrained Trumpās most regressive, undemocratic impulses. Judging from his recently unveiled āmost obedient dipshitā personnel strategy, Trump thinks he has learned from his past mistakes. Tom Nichols summarized Trumpās nominees in The Atlantic yesterday: āIf you want to assemble the infrastructure of an authoritarian government, this is how you do it.ā
Yet his power over the executive branch and its employees is not absolute. Even a would-be American autocrat faces limits ā not just constitutional or legal ones, but the practical realities of managing a sprawling government bureaucracy. To foil Trump a second time will take a more subversive and decentralized approach, and it depends in part on the bravery of our nationās civil servants.ā
And we have semi-functional courts that can be used to oppose the fascist Trump regime ā the glacial pace of the judicial process that benefited Trump as a private citizen will work to delay his authoritarian agenda.