Our ability to construct a better future depends on naming this moment with as much care as possible. We are in the midst of a fundamental, global transformation marked by ecological collapse and grotesque inequalities of wealth and power. Systems that defined daily life and gave it meaning are collapsing, incapable of responding to the magnitude of the challenges before us.

Global elites in the US and beyond have abandoned liberal democracies and are forging authoritarian structures to protect their power and privilege at the expense of the majority of the people and the survival of the planet. 

In the US we are experiencing a fascist coup. The global order that has governed international relationships is disintegrating as the US Empire declines. While losing economic and moral power, the US remains good at killing. Thus, violence becomes the most predictable response to any crisis.

Henry Giroux helps us understand that we are living in a country where “the naked power of the state, captured by billionaires who despise democracy, hate people of color, and dream of a society where justice and equality are treated as toxic viruses to be eradicated.” “What remains,” he says, “is the scaffolding of a racialized fascism, sharpened to a brutal edge.”

With each passing day, underneath the chaos and incompetence, the callous cruelty required to preserve and protect the power of the few becomes clear.

But facing the enormity of this challenge will not come easily to us. We live in a country that has been shaped by denial, that has hidden the cruelties of our past and evaded the consequences of our actions. 

Yet, every day individual and collective acts of courage are redefining social reality. The petty cruelties, absurdities and incompetence of the billionaire brotherhood seizing the levers of authority are emerging from the carefully constructed chaos. People are shifting their awareness. Many of us are taking to the streets, challenging issues in court, holding webinars, teach-ins and engaging in acts of individual and collective resistance. This refusal to accept the world defined by elites is having an effect.

Of course we need to do more. As Giroux reminds us:

We must rise against it with the full force of collective defiance—together, unrelenting, unyielding. We must stand in the streets and in the halls of power. Our actions must not be small or meek, but instead loud, insistent, and bold. Nonviolent uprisings, strikes that choke the flow of profit, blockades that rupture the pathways of oppression—these are the tools with which we can turn the tide. Our voices must be relentless. Our bodies must be unmovable. 

The last few weeks of public refusal to bow down to a world defined by Trump is having an effect on people’s thinking.  Acts of resistance are beginning to penetrate the denial and delusions of the majority of people. The most recent polling data shows Trump is dropping rapidly in his approval rating. Virtually everything he is doing is causing increasing concern among the broad majority of people. This is especially true of those policies linked to Musk and the assault on federal agencies. Our ability to magnify the real-world consequences of Trump’s actions is critical to breaking through this denial.

Resistance to fascism is essential for our own humanity. But it is not enough. For our future we need to build the bonds of connection, support and compassion that enable us to build ways of living that affirm life, cherish all people and protect our earth.