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The USA Is NOT Headed for Fascism
Thinking that an authoritarian state is in our future can be a dangerous error
It’s mid-May, 2025, and all around me I hear it: America is headed toward fascism, totalitarianism, tyranny.
Well, no it’s not, and imagining that it is can be a dangerous mistake. Because here’s the thing:
You can’t be “headed toward” where you already are.
On February 9th of this year, the US Vice President posted on social media: “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.” And of course, the executive also determines what constitutes “legitimate” executive power.
Nine days later, Don Trump signed an executive order entitled “Ensuring accountability for all agencies” which declared:
The President and the Attorney General, subject to the President’s supervision and control, shall provide authoritative interpretations of law for the executive branch.
Supposedly, this blatantly illegal order applies to every “independent regulatory agency,” making them no longer independent but rather entirely dependent upon the whims of the Oval Office. And thus ended separation of powers, checks and balances, and judicial review.
