United States of America (In Name Only): When Home Becomes Unrecognizable

Day 85 gave us the clearest signs yet that our democracy is actively dying, if not dead already.

It’s a strange and unsettling feeling: our addresses never changed, we crossed no borders, and we didn’t even pack a bag. Yet sometimes a nation just shifts beneath your feet—permanently, irrevocably.

I’ve sat with the headline below for hours, trying to make sense of what it means for our country. After damn near ten years of “Why are you being so dramatic,” or “It’s ridiculous to take politics so seriously,” The 47th Administration continues to prove the term ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ was just another way of saying ‘Absolutely Correct’. Day 85 gave us the clearest signs yet that our democracy is actively dying, if not dead already.

We The People need to accept the cold, hard truth; The United States of America that you grew up in is gone.

The 47th Administration of President Donald J. Trump does not believe all people are created equal. They do not believe in due process. They do not believe in democracy. Despite having all three branches of government, they are ruling by Executive Order. Instead of stopping the wars and focusing on getting prices down, both of which he promised would start on Day 1, he picked a fight with Canada (and announced we need Greenland) before slapping a tax on virtually everything Americans buy.

Even if he reversed his policies tomorrow, we’ll never be what we were again. We’ve forfeited our place as leader of the free world and shattered 80 years of friendships… this won’t be fixed simply by electing a Democrat or voting Trump out, it’s going to take a generation to repair. We’ve abandoned so many values, I genuinely don’t know what We The People are supposed to believe in anymore.

Consider the list below; I asked ChatGPT “Can you give me a list of values and ideals that are widely associated with The United States of America?” and this is what it produced:

• Freedom and Liberty – Emphasizing individual rights and the ability to live without undue restraint.

  • See headline above: Freedom and Liberty are no longer American values. It won’t be said out loud, to be sure; they know not even their supporters would abide by it. No, they’ll just gaslight you to your face while calling it something else… like ‘SaViNg ThE cOuNtRy’, perhaps.

• Equality – Aspiring to treat all citizens with fairness under the law, regardless of background.

  • They pardoned convicted criminals on Day 1, and now they’ve arrested lawful residents over their opinions. Equality, my ass.

• Individualism – Valuing personal autonomy, self-reliance, and the pursuit of one’s own path.

  • Our federal government is staffed based on who is most loyal. Dissent in Congress is punished with threats of funding a primary challenger. Disliking the President is grounds for firing. While self-reliance may remain, the nearest Americans have come to upholding it as a value lately is with its close relative… self-interest. But then, I’d call that more of an epidemic than a value.

• Democracy – Upholding government by the people, for the people, with protection of civil liberties.

  • They are dismantling our democracy. Right now. In front of us.

• Opportunity (“The American Dream”) – Belief that through hard work and determination, anyone can improve their circumstances.

  • It definitely comes up during campaigns, but I’d hazard a guess that the bottom 90% of Americans haven’t felt this way in a long time. Let’s be real; The American Dream hasn’t felt attainable for a while, and the tariff policy does not suggest that’s going to change.

• Diversity and Inclusion – Celebrating cultural, ethnic, and religious differences as a source of strength.

  • The United States of America has loudly declared this is NOT a value we hold.

• Rule of Law – Expecting government and citizens alike to be bound by a shared legal framework.

  • If you’re not a political nerd or you find the news boring, you might not yet realize just how far we’ve strayed from the concept of the rule of law. I want to quote Erwin Cherminsky, the dean of law at UCal Berkeley: “There have been so many illegal and unconstitutional actions in the first 18 days of the Trump presidency. We’ve never seen anything like this.” Y’all, I wrote that quote on FEBRUARY 10th… they haven’t exactly changed their tune.

• Innovation and Progress – Championing entrepreneurship, scientific discovery, and forward thinking.

  • LOL, we can throw out scientific discovery, forward thinking, and progress… I’d also argue that we’re losing the right to call ourselves champions of entrepreneurship with tariffs high enough to bankrupt small businesses.

• Hard Work and Perseverance – Esteeming dedication and resilience in the face of challenges.

  • Sure, that one we’ve kept... but you can’t outwork a rigged game.

I took a trip to Rocky Point (Puerto Penasco), Mexico at 17 with my family, and we stayed for four days; 11 years later, we went back and stayed for another four days. Puerto Penasco is about 65 miles from the U.S. border, and the furthest I’ve been out of the country.

So, taking away those 8, I’ve spent 12,533 days in the USA; it’s the only home I’ve ever known. Thanks to a free trial on ancestry.com, I’m fairly sure the generations who came before me bear the signs of whatever era of American history they were destined to live through; on one side, an Irishman, fleeing the famine… on another side, members of the Choctaw nation, growing ever-mixed and less familiar with their culture. Generations of poverty, addiction, and abuse is what I was born into… luckily, my parents hammered into my head the importance of education, and I’ve grown up to be a lifelong learner and a political nerd. Whether I’m the first in my bloodline to graduate college, I know not… All I know is that my story⎯⎯my views, history, dreams, successes and failures, best and worst memories, and everything that makes me ME⎯⎯are all purely, unabashedly, and unmistakably AMERICAN…

… And I’m telling you, I do not recognize my country.

I want to quote Zolan Kanno-Youngs of New York Times, regarding the meeting in the Oval Office today between President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador and President Trump: “The message from the meeting was clear: Neither Mr. Trump nor Mr. Bukele had any intention of returning Mr. Abrego Garcia, even though the Supreme Court has ruled that he should come back to the United States. The case has come to symbolize Mr. Trump’s defiance of the courts and his willingness to deport people without due process.”

In my humble opinion, Donald John Trump is a fucking monster. I’d like to make that clear while I’m still free to say it.