I think we need a clear alternative vision for this country in order for people to turn away from fascism altogether because although many people know this is wrong no one has presented a clear and concise path forward. For all their loathsomeness the Republicans do have a clear vision of what they want and it is served with large sides of coercion, illegality and violence. Arguing the merits of what fascists say will only skew the narrative further to the right because they do not compromise on anything. And arguing with insane people will only drive us insane!
I couldn’t agree more. I think this is one of the biggest underlying problems that Democrats and the broader left face when it comes to selling their ideas: the lack of a foundational belief system or clear vision. That absence creates several cascading problems:
1. Fragmentation. Without an underlying ethical or moral core that everyone can point to, different parts of the “big tent” often pull in different directions based on their own interests. And because there’s no shared anchor, each group sees little incentive to support another’s priorities, even when doing so would actually strengthen their own position. This makes it very easy for the right to run a divide-and-conquer strategy against us.
2. Perceived hostility. In practice, this lack of a clear positive value system makes it look like the left only defines itself by dismantling what already exists. And because the dominant systems in American history have been built to the advantage of white Christians, any attempt to dismantle those systems can be spun as an attack on white people or Christianity themselves. Without a constructive alternative vision, terms like “fairness” or “equity” are easily painted by the right as nothing more than a veneer for hostility toward those groups.
3. Accusations of relativism or “postmodernism.” This vacuum leaves the left vulnerable to the charge that it doesn’t really believe in anything at all. Critics frame progressive politics as ad hoc, opportunistic, and detached from any consistent set of values. That framing sticks because, while the left has been effective at challenging the old patriarchal, religious order, it hasn’t replaced it with a structured moral framework of its own. As a result, to many outside observers, it looks like the left’s “values” change situationally, depending on convenience.
As you said, their vision may be mostly driven by a 2000-year-old book that claims the Earth is only about 6,000 years old and the cascading effects of colonialism—but at least they can point to a thing that exists, something that acts as a guiding principle. We can’t. And that is why I’ve been working on building exactly that: a structured framework that can serve as a foundation for how we define fairness, responsibility, and progress in a way that isn’t just reactive but proactive. I call it the Unified Societal Operating System (USOS). Instead of fighting issue by issue with no connective tissue, it provides a blueprint that ties everything together under a coherent set of values, so we aren’t just tearing down what exists but offering a vision of what should replace it.
The great thing about USOS is that, on one hand, it grounds all parts of our big tent in a clear set of positive ethical and moral principles while also mapping out how to build and sustain a society guided by them. On the other hand, USOS distills the very “values” the right incorrectly claims as exclusively Christian or “Western”—things like meritocracy, order, and social cohesion—into a framework that requires neither religion nor patriarchy to function. That means USOS can actually offer people the stability and fairness they want, without tying it to systems designed to keep others down.
If this framework sounds interesting, I’ve laid it out in detail here. Would love your feedback:
We can’t sleep through it, as you point out, but I’m not exactly sure what we’re actually supposed to DO. That is one (HUGE) part of the problem. The other is actual awareness…most of America doesn’t even realize that we have devolved into fascism. Short of lighting up the skies with blaring messages, how do we bring awareness? As I see it, the only person gaining any traction is Gavin Newsom, but we must have a leader who will be out there, day in & day out, to guide all of us taking back our democracy.
I think the first step is for Democrats and the left to bury their anti-adversarial tendencies. The idea that we’ll “talk the other side out of hostility” has failed. Protesting them is useless — worse than useless, it’s wasted effort and opportunity. If we protest at all, it should be aimed at our own leaders, to push them toward decisive action against the fascist regime. That means:
1. State Prosecutions. Demand indictments for those involved in disappearing people into concentration camps and foreign gulags under false pretenses — and keep pushing until arrest warrants reach all the way up the chain.
2. Fight fire with fire. If the right is going to gerrymander, suppress voters, and rig the rules, we cannot unilaterally disarm. The only way to make them stop is to show that two can play that game — and that if they insist on rigged rules, we’ll beat them at their own game until they beg to restore fair play.
3. Leverage power we actually hold. For example, blue states control the nation’s major ports, and with them, the entry and exit points for much of the country’s goods. Laws can be written that are neutral on their face — and legally defensible — but still strangle the economies of red states. If they think they can send troops into our cities, we can choke their economies until collapse.
The fascist regime is consolidating power and escalating violence. We can either throw everything we have at them now to force collapse, or we can fight another Civil War later. The stakes only get higher from here. So we either stop pretending it’s 1965 and that marches and street signs will make a difference, or we'll sleepwalk right into bloodshed.
Once again I couldn’t agree more Lukium. The liberal passivity is alarming and if we don’t stop talking things to death and thinking that’s “doing something” it will all be over sooner than later. These people have been strategizing for 50+ years. They’ve clearly corrupted all our courts and judges beginning with the supreme court on down. Our main stream media is nothing now but a propaganda machine. This is NOT the time to play nice, “honor the law” (what law???!) and the process and just be patient!! The evil reports are worse every day and escalating. There is no time to wait and this is NOT the time to urge others to do so. The horrific things we’ve seen and heard already in 6 short months should be smelling salts enough to WAKE UP every decent American!!!!!
We stand at a precipice. The very foundation of our democracy, the principles that define us as a nation – freedom, justice, and the power of the people – are under siege. A regime has taken root that seeks to dismantle these ideals, to centralize power, and to silence the voices of ordinary Americans.
This is not a drill. This is not a partisan debate. This is a battle for the soul of our nation, and we, the American people, are the last line of defense.
To reclaim our democracy, we must face an uncomfortable truth: we must halt the engine that fuels this regime. We must, together, choose to disrupt the very systems it relies upon. This means a collective act of non-cooperation. It means temporarily stopping the flow of productivity that empowers those who seek to undermine us. It means, for a time, accepting financial pain.
I understand the gravity of these words. I know the fear and uncertainty that such a prospect evokes. Families will struggle. Businesses will face hardship. But I ask you: what is the cost of losing our democracy? What is the price of living under a system where our rights are eroded, our voices are silenced, and our future is dictated by a few? That cost, my friends, is far greater and far more enduring than any temporary economic pain we might endure.
Think of those who came before us – who risked everything, who shed blood and treasure, to establish and preserve this nation. They endured famine, war, and unimaginable sacrifice for the promise of a free society. Are we, in this generation, less capable of defending that legacy?
This is not about surrender. This is about strategic withdrawal of our energy and resources from a system that has become weaponized against us. By stopping our collective productivity, we starve the regime of its power. We deny it the resources it needs to perpetuate its control. We create an undeniable crisis that forces a reckoning.
This will be painful. There is no sugarcoating it. But we are a resilient people. We are ingenious. We will organize. We will support each other through community, through shared resources, and through the unbreakable bonds of our common purpose. We must prepare for this pain, knowing that it is the necessary path to a greater good.
The choice before us is stark: a brief, intense period of shared hardship for the promise of a free future, or a slow, agonizing slide into authoritarianism with consequences that will echo for generations.
Let us rise to this challenge. Let us stand together, united in our resolve. Let us choose freedom, no matter the cost. Our democracy, our future, depends on it.
I think we need a clear alternative vision for this country in order for people to turn away from fascism altogether because although many people know this is wrong no one has presented a clear and concise path forward. For all their loathsomeness the Republicans do have a clear vision of what they want and it is served with large sides of coercion, illegality and violence. Arguing the merits of what fascists say will only skew the narrative further to the right because they do not compromise on anything. And arguing with insane people will only drive us insane!
I couldn’t agree more. I think this is one of the biggest underlying problems that Democrats and the broader left face when it comes to selling their ideas: the lack of a foundational belief system or clear vision. That absence creates several cascading problems:
1. Fragmentation. Without an underlying ethical or moral core that everyone can point to, different parts of the “big tent” often pull in different directions based on their own interests. And because there’s no shared anchor, each group sees little incentive to support another’s priorities, even when doing so would actually strengthen their own position. This makes it very easy for the right to run a divide-and-conquer strategy against us.
2. Perceived hostility. In practice, this lack of a clear positive value system makes it look like the left only defines itself by dismantling what already exists. And because the dominant systems in American history have been built to the advantage of white Christians, any attempt to dismantle those systems can be spun as an attack on white people or Christianity themselves. Without a constructive alternative vision, terms like “fairness” or “equity” are easily painted by the right as nothing more than a veneer for hostility toward those groups.
3. Accusations of relativism or “postmodernism.” This vacuum leaves the left vulnerable to the charge that it doesn’t really believe in anything at all. Critics frame progressive politics as ad hoc, opportunistic, and detached from any consistent set of values. That framing sticks because, while the left has been effective at challenging the old patriarchal, religious order, it hasn’t replaced it with a structured moral framework of its own. As a result, to many outside observers, it looks like the left’s “values” change situationally, depending on convenience.
As you said, their vision may be mostly driven by a 2000-year-old book that claims the Earth is only about 6,000 years old and the cascading effects of colonialism—but at least they can point to a thing that exists, something that acts as a guiding principle. We can’t. And that is why I’ve been working on building exactly that: a structured framework that can serve as a foundation for how we define fairness, responsibility, and progress in a way that isn’t just reactive but proactive. I call it the Unified Societal Operating System (USOS). Instead of fighting issue by issue with no connective tissue, it provides a blueprint that ties everything together under a coherent set of values, so we aren’t just tearing down what exists but offering a vision of what should replace it.
The great thing about USOS is that, on one hand, it grounds all parts of our big tent in a clear set of positive ethical and moral principles while also mapping out how to build and sustain a society guided by them. On the other hand, USOS distills the very “values” the right incorrectly claims as exclusively Christian or “Western”—things like meritocracy, order, and social cohesion—into a framework that requires neither religion nor patriarchy to function. That means USOS can actually offer people the stability and fairness they want, without tying it to systems designed to keep others down.
If this framework sounds interesting, I’ve laid it out in detail here. Would love your feedback:
https://americanmanifesto.news/the-unified-societal-operating-system
I love this!!!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
This kind of thing is like putting 4 deadlocks on your door & then undoing them because the Land Shark outside said, "Candygram."
"Liberal Legalism is the lullaby of collapse." YES, thank you, again, for saying what needs to be said and saying it so well.
We can’t sleep through it, as you point out, but I’m not exactly sure what we’re actually supposed to DO. That is one (HUGE) part of the problem. The other is actual awareness…most of America doesn’t even realize that we have devolved into fascism. Short of lighting up the skies with blaring messages, how do we bring awareness? As I see it, the only person gaining any traction is Gavin Newsom, but we must have a leader who will be out there, day in & day out, to guide all of us taking back our democracy.
I think the first step is for Democrats and the left to bury their anti-adversarial tendencies. The idea that we’ll “talk the other side out of hostility” has failed. Protesting them is useless — worse than useless, it’s wasted effort and opportunity. If we protest at all, it should be aimed at our own leaders, to push them toward decisive action against the fascist regime. That means:
1. State Prosecutions. Demand indictments for those involved in disappearing people into concentration camps and foreign gulags under false pretenses — and keep pushing until arrest warrants reach all the way up the chain.
2. Fight fire with fire. If the right is going to gerrymander, suppress voters, and rig the rules, we cannot unilaterally disarm. The only way to make them stop is to show that two can play that game — and that if they insist on rigged rules, we’ll beat them at their own game until they beg to restore fair play.
3. Leverage power we actually hold. For example, blue states control the nation’s major ports, and with them, the entry and exit points for much of the country’s goods. Laws can be written that are neutral on their face — and legally defensible — but still strangle the economies of red states. If they think they can send troops into our cities, we can choke their economies until collapse.
The fascist regime is consolidating power and escalating violence. We can either throw everything we have at them now to force collapse, or we can fight another Civil War later. The stakes only get higher from here. So we either stop pretending it’s 1965 and that marches and street signs will make a difference, or we'll sleepwalk right into bloodshed.
Once again I couldn’t agree more Lukium. The liberal passivity is alarming and if we don’t stop talking things to death and thinking that’s “doing something” it will all be over sooner than later. These people have been strategizing for 50+ years. They’ve clearly corrupted all our courts and judges beginning with the supreme court on down. Our main stream media is nothing now but a propaganda machine. This is NOT the time to play nice, “honor the law” (what law???!) and the process and just be patient!! The evil reports are worse every day and escalating. There is no time to wait and this is NOT the time to urge others to do so. The horrific things we’ve seen and heard already in 6 short months should be smelling salts enough to WAKE UP every decent American!!!!!
It's time we start the national organization.
It was just announced that AI is reading our conversations and making notes, then the bots come to interfere.
WELCOME TO THE PEOPLE'S STRIKE FOR DEMOCRACY!
A Peaceful, Legal, and Nationwide Call to Action
We are everyday Americans who are done watching corruption, greed, and authoritarianism hijack our democracy.
We are teachers, workers, veterans, retirees, nurses, farmers, students — united by one truth:
This government no longer works for the people.
It is now our duty to stop cooperating with a broken system. That’s why we are calling for a National Strike.
A National Strike means:
No work
No school
No shopping
No silence
We gather peacefully at our state capitols or local courthouses to make one thing clear:
We will not comply with the destruction of our rights, freedoms, or future.
Where & When?
This is a state-by-state movement.
The date is up to US!
When your community is ready, you rise.
Each state has its own call-to-action you can post, print, or share.
You’ll find them in our toolkit and graphics archive.
What We Stand For:
Protecting democracy and fair elections
Ending corporate and oligarchic rule
Defending civil rights and human dignity
Opposing tyranny — in all forms
What We Will Never Do:
Promote violence
Target people over parties
Break the law
Stay silent in the face of fascism
This is not about politics. This is about power.
And it belongs to the people — if we’re brave enough to take it back.
🇺🇸 We are the majority. We are awake. And we will be heard.
🔗 Share this. Print this. Show up. The strike begins when we say it does!
Below sample which I'm currently working on for every state.
I'm unable to do much this week, my old dog is having surgery.
PLEASE BECOME AN ORGANIZER IN YOUR STATE AND GET SOME VOLUNTEERS. IT'S NOW OR NEVER.
https://generalstrikeus.com/strikecard
* The Price of Freedom: A Nation's Stand
My fellow Americans,
We stand at a precipice. The very foundation of our democracy, the principles that define us as a nation – freedom, justice, and the power of the people – are under siege. A regime has taken root that seeks to dismantle these ideals, to centralize power, and to silence the voices of ordinary Americans.
This is not a drill. This is not a partisan debate. This is a battle for the soul of our nation, and we, the American people, are the last line of defense.
To reclaim our democracy, we must face an uncomfortable truth: we must halt the engine that fuels this regime. We must, together, choose to disrupt the very systems it relies upon. This means a collective act of non-cooperation. It means temporarily stopping the flow of productivity that empowers those who seek to undermine us. It means, for a time, accepting financial pain.
I understand the gravity of these words. I know the fear and uncertainty that such a prospect evokes. Families will struggle. Businesses will face hardship. But I ask you: what is the cost of losing our democracy? What is the price of living under a system where our rights are eroded, our voices are silenced, and our future is dictated by a few? That cost, my friends, is far greater and far more enduring than any temporary economic pain we might endure.
Think of those who came before us – who risked everything, who shed blood and treasure, to establish and preserve this nation. They endured famine, war, and unimaginable sacrifice for the promise of a free society. Are we, in this generation, less capable of defending that legacy?
This is not about surrender. This is about strategic withdrawal of our energy and resources from a system that has become weaponized against us. By stopping our collective productivity, we starve the regime of its power. We deny it the resources it needs to perpetuate its control. We create an undeniable crisis that forces a reckoning.
This will be painful. There is no sugarcoating it. But we are a resilient people. We are ingenious. We will organize. We will support each other through community, through shared resources, and through the unbreakable bonds of our common purpose. We must prepare for this pain, knowing that it is the necessary path to a greater good.
The choice before us is stark: a brief, intense period of shared hardship for the promise of a free future, or a slow, agonizing slide into authoritarianism with consequences that will echo for generations.
Let us rise to this challenge. Let us stand together, united in our resolve. Let us choose freedom, no matter the cost. Our democracy, our future, depends on it.
God bless America!