In an excellent piece from The New Republic, Brynn Tannehill writes:
Which is to say, an unbreakable plurality of the GOP explicitly wants fascism. Another 29 percent are OK with it as long as it doesn’t directly affect them (though I expect a lot of them are going to unexpectedly get their faces eaten by leopards). And of the remaining 28 percent who don’t like it, Trump’s approval ratings within the GOP as president suggest that most who don’t like what he is saying will pull the lever for him anyway in November 2024. … Some might point out that only 28 percent of U.S. voters are registered as Republicans. True, but Republican-leaning independents constitute another 17 percent, and actual swing voters are relatively rare. So the best-case scenario is that only 14 percent of voters are really dedicated to installing a fascist dictatorship. However, history tells us that that is a sufficient critical mass to send a country spinning into horror. … Which leaves us where we are today. One party is dedicated to bringing about a dictatorship that plans to seize power for “a generation or two,” purging society of the enemies that are purportedly destroying the nation from within. The other party is a vaguely center-left coalition, too weak to bring about effective change because the country’s Constitution and societal fragmentation make it politically and legally impossible. … As bad as this is, I haven’t even gotten to the really depressing part. Most people assume that if fascism came to America, we would recognize it as individuals and refuse to go along with it. In reality, very few people are directly affected by living in an authoritarian country; life is mostly “boring and tolerable” for the majority. “Yes,” most people would say, “but if asked to do things I know were wrong, I would refuse to comply. Because I’m an American, and I know better.” Except, we’re already testing this every day in red states, and failing miserably [i.e., abortion rights in Texas]. … Ultimately, when the power of the state comes to bear on people, including Americans, the vast majority will not do the right thing. Most (sane) people admire Martin Niemöller, but when confronted with the reality of how fascism corrupts ordinary men, almost no one emulates his willingness to do the right thing by defying the state. When Trump takes power and turns the full might of the government against anyone who might resist, the guardrails of individual conscience will evaporate faster than a snow flurry in hell [emphasis added].
Bingo! Basically, it’s what I’ve been saying for years. This sh*t-for-brains country is going to unwittingly fall into fascism because people are bored, stupid, and don’t care. And it doesn’t take that many to lead us into an American dictatorship. Indeed, I will go one step further than many authors and pundits who are raising alarm bells by saying fascism in America is guaranteed! Traitor trump is sure to win (with only a plurality of the vote), but no one believes me. And people simply just don’t f***ing care. F***tards of America are pathetic, apathetic, and just too f***ing G.D. stupid to keep their democracy. How many times must I say it? Oh, well. You heard it here first. Welcome to stupid, stupid America. The end is here; you just haven’t realized it yet.