I could live to be 100 and won’t ever understand how the Church I grew up in–spent most of my adult life serving–and the Party my father–a man of moral integrity with a strong commitment to service and community–swore by, could end up so out of sync with every principle I was taught at home or in the pews. I cannot reconcile “a government of, by, and for the people” with the fascist oligarchy currently calling the shots, and the full-throated support from the religious Right. It is incomprehensible that self professed Christians have, not only allowed but actually support taking food from children, shuttering rural hospitals, lining the pockets of the Billionaire Class, and funding the caging of immigrants–without due process–in concentration camps surrounded by alligators.

But here we are.

98% of Republicans in the 119th Congress “identify” as Christians. Fewer than 1% rejected the Budget Bill signed by the president on the 4th of July. When I saw the results of the vote, I started shaking. I literally turned off my computer; it was so difficult to witness what America had done. Five Republicans–Rep. Thomas Massie (KY), Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), Sen. Paul Rand (KY), Sen. Susan Collins (ME), and Sen. Thom Tillis (NC)–joined every Democrat and Independent to vote NO. But it was not enough.

The result?

We can now look forward to millions of people losing their healthcare, hundreds of thousands spent on additional medicaid administrative costs rather than real services, and the closure of countless rural clinics and hospitals. Over a quarter million elderly, children, and veterans will lose their SNAP benefits (food assistance) due to new burdensome reporting requirements. Once this assistance is cut it can take three year to get it back.  Additionally, public education will see more and more funding diverted to private schools through vouchers. Taxpayers who “donate” to a school voucher programs can get a 100% tax credit. But remember: private schools aren’t subject to public school curriculum requirements. They aren’t required to enroll every child who applies regardless of gender, race, or religious affiliation. Nor are they required to accommodate disabilities or learning differences. Many children will be left behind.

Finally (though it isn’t the last concerning element in this legislation, just the last I’ll mention now), Americans can expect to see more militarized ICE agents in more cities throughout the country. Why? Because in the new budget Homeland security (a tiny sliver of America’s military) gets over $100 billion dollars a year, the majority of which is labeled “discretionary” spending. In other words, they can do with it what they want. Only three countries in the world spend more than $100 billion on their country’s entire military, and one of those is the United States. The budget for ICE alone increased five fold from $8 billion dollars to $45 billion. How many concentration camps can you build with that kind of money? And who in the hell do we plan to put in them? With 48 million immigrants in the US today, 75% of whom are documented, the new budget allocates over $9 million dollars per immigrant. When ICE has finished rounding up, detaining, and deporting all the brown skinned people they can find, other perceived “enemies” will undoubtedly follow. Already the fear-mongering rhetoric from this administration has targeted members of LGBTQ+ communities, muslim Americans, and anyone–including the media–who expresses a view contrary to their own.

When the public understands what’s in this bill, they hate it. The problem is, our electorate is uninformed and disengaged, Dems have a trust problem, and figuring out how to inform voters before the next election will be tricky. Republicans don’t want their constituents to feel the punch before they’re re-elected thus several of the cuts to services the poor, disabled, and elderly rely on are slated to take place AFTER the mid-terms. This fact will make it more difficult for Dems to raise awareness among voters because the voters won’t yet feel the pinch. Additionally, Republicans added a few benefits for the working class, like no taxes on tips and a standard deduction for seniors. They will undoubtedly champion these in the run up to the midterms. But surprise, surprise, those benefits are scheduled to expire in 2028. The tax cuts for the wealthy, on the other hand, are permanent.

Democracies turn into authoritarian regimes when privilege allows us to disengage. The combination of misinformation and fear-mongering sets the stage for the loss of individual rights. First to be separated out are the smaller slivers of the population that can be painted as less than or dangerous, groups few others have a connection to, like immigrants and trans athletes. Next, the allies of those already under attack are targeted. When the bullying is successful the fearful are silenced and those not yet impacted intentionally look away. Eventually, the disengagement opens the door to bolder and more serious assertions of power and losses of freedom. This is the stage we’re in on our trek toward totalitarianism.

Given the Republican’s assault on voting rights, their legislative efforts to restrict access to the ballot, and their insistence that every election that doesn’t go their way is fraudulent, I fear civic minded Americans may only have one relatively free and fair election in our future–the 2026 mid terms. What is alarming is that over a third of eligible adults didn’t bother to vote in the last election. Americans have done impossible things in the past, like coming back from the attack on Pearl Harbor. But, we’ve never had to fight our own government before. SCOTUS and Congress have never before aligned with (or capitulated to) a white nationalist dictator intent on suppressing all opposition, lining his own pocket, and treating everything he does like a transaction with a winner–Himself–and a loser–everyone else. Democrats, Progressives, and Independents, who understand what is at stake, will need to work harder than they have ever had to work before in order to revive our Republic the easy way. Our nation is hemorrhaging its life blood–freedom, justice, equality, diversity, self-determination, and opportunity. What will you do to stop the bleeding?