Our "New" Reality

Every day the Trump administrations policies seem to be hitting closer and closer to home. Reading the news feels like a daily torment wondering "what's next" as the pendulum of fascist rule and the destruction of our democracy swings ever lower. For my reading today I had these nasty tidbits to chew over:

http://www.cscmediagroupus.com/2017/02/11/tennessee-passes-bill-allowing-people-hit-protesters-blocking-roads/

http://www.kgw.com/news/ice-agents-arrest-undocumented-woodburn-man/407765696

http://markmaynard.com/2017/02/5th-grade-charter-school-teacher-mika-yamamoto-fired-from-michigans-renaissance-public-school-academy-where-she-was-the-only-teacher-of-color-claims-she-was-told-by-her-principal-the-community/

With information like this out in the general public I don't know how anyone can not be afraid of not just the possible threats to our way of life but the actual actions that have been taken that are disrupting and in some cases destroying people's lives. Tonight I will not be fact checking, presenting statistics, or otherwise refuting legislation currently in motion. Instead I will be indulging in a bit of fiction, which unfortunately may contain more truth than I'd care for, of what we may see in the coming months and years.

Today is February 14th, Valentines Day, 2017. In less than a month under the new President we have seen fear and anger more than any time since the attacks on September 11th, 2001. Actions already taken have caused legal residents to be denied access to their homes and no doubt cost some thousands of dollars and in some cases their livelihood as they are trapped away from their homes and jobs and are forced to make alternative plans for transportation and lodging.

Disappearances and seizures have begun as illegal immigrants, some of whom have been in our country for decades and known to the US government, suddenly find what little security they had yanked away. These people will remain in detention for who knows how long only to be deported with nothing to show for their years of hard work and having to restart their lives from scratch. These actions are celebrated by many as the start of taking America back even as their neighbors mourn their family ripped apart or fear that they will be next.

Over the coming weeks and months we do not see life settle into a routine but rather things continue to change, subtly at first but then at a more rapid pace. Construction has begun on the border wall with Mexico and construction on the Dakota Access and Keystone XL Pipelines are moving forward. Protesters come out in the thousands but law enforcement is ruthless in driving them back and make dozens of arrests each day. Media access to the protests is limited but those who do make it through are the first targeted for arrest. The growing Federal law enforcement contingent supplements local police forces in this effort. Where local law enforcement refuses to carry out the brutal treatment of protesters Federal agencies deem the jurisdiction a "sanctuary jurisdiction" under the still nebulous definition of that term in order to remove funding from local authorities and allow a swift Federal takeover.

The Supreme Court has rolled back some provisions of the President's executive order on immigration but not all. No one is surprised when the ban on Syrian refugees is made permanent. The President's review of the visa process as well as new legislation passed in Congress and increased actions by ICE and border patrol have brought US immigration to a near standstill. Strained relationships internationally mean fewer US companies gaining contracts overseas. Legislation has slowed imports due to excessive tariffs causing countries to retaliate and impose similar measures against US exports. American scientists and scholars are increasingly looking for positions outside of the US where their work sees greater appreciation and grants are more readily available while international scholars avoid the US even if they would be considered for admission at all.

By the beginning of 2018 the economy is feeling the strain of a declining workforce and limited interaction with the international economy. The stock market begins a steady decline as consumer confidence falls. Seeking someone to blame, the President insists that the poor economy is just a product of media lies and institutes his first actions aimed directly at censoring the media. This action is overridden through the Supreme Court but, like the immigration ban, is followed with actions through Congress that tie the first yoke to our system of free press. The President also doubles down on his claim that immigrants steal American jobs to take increased action against immigrants and expand that action to include those who support or protect immigrants.

Fear and anger spread as the future becomes increasingly uncertain. Families and friends are turned against each other. In the chaos crime begins to go on the rise as survivalist tendencies and opportunism take over. The landscape is increasingly polarized as communities fall apart and martial law begins to become the norm.

At midterm elections, despite increasing public unrest, the Republicans not only continue but in fact increase their majority in both the House and the Senate. People are baffled but Congress has already voted to defund the Independent Election Committee among other voter laws and back door deals have allowed voter fraud and corruption to flourish. Gerrymandering and Jim Crow laws see a resurgence that disenfranchises a large portion of the poor, students, and people of color. Though activists fight the changes and take the election results to court they make minimal impact due to the state of the new laws.

As civil unrest grows so do sanctions against the media and restrictions on the rights of protesters. With the free media slowly falling in line the President and Congress begin taking actions against social media and the internet in general. Their progress on this front is slow but unmistakable. Censorship becomes a thing of everyday life. With immigration at a standstill and civil unrest continuing to grow the President reassigns much of his already substantial ICE and border patrol force to a new task force within the Department of Homeland Security to deal with what is termed "a growing threat of domestic terrorism". Meanwhile the military is withdrawn from foreign soil but is not reduced in any way. The entire armed forces stands waiting, publicly to be ready for a foreign threat, though none appears likely.

By the general election of 2020 at least one state has secession initiatives on the ballot. Despite the lowest approval rating of any President on record Trump is reelected for another 4 years in office. At least one state votes to secede from the union. The US government does not out right deny the state's right to do so but, without any built in provisions for such a move, insists that the state pay back decades worth of Federal assistance while immediately cutting off all new funding to the state. When the state naturally refuses these terms the Federal government takes military action to deny them all access to the outside world by sea, land, and air. The swift and overwhelming military presence is a deterrent to some but causes other states to act out and the country will descend into civil war without significant external intervention.

It doesn't seem necessary to look beyond that at this point. No one wants to see such an end. There are of course alternate scenarios of a more or less dire nature but we must all hope we never get that far.