In 2013, I was fortunate to travel to Berlin, Germany and visit the remains of the Berlin Wall which was built in 1961. Outside a municipal building was a section of the wall that was left for a display. Along the wall were pictures and writings of Hitler’s rise to power in the early 1930s. The story told of his election to government and once he rose to power the steps he took to become a dictator. (Some legal and some illegal, step by step taking control and normalizing the non-normal.) This process took about two years to complete in 1933 and 1934.
One of the illegal things that were done in this period was to find a government official who disagreed with his policy, have the SS police pick up the official, take him from his home in the middle of the night, in front of his family and beat him, then return him to his home so he could tell his story. This method was used to put fear into the general public. If this could happen to a public official, who was safe?
As I read the story of the takeover I thought to myself, how could the German people let this happen? Were they not aware of this process? Did they care? What were they thinking and doing to not speak up and stop this from happening?
Fast forward to 2025 and I see a similar pattern taking shape here in the United States of America. We have a leader who is methodically taking away rights we have enjoyed for years. The list of executive orders is so long one cannot keep track of all the new rules the orders have set in place, “truly chaos.” I can’t help but think this is part of the plan, chaos.
Withholding federal funds from universities when they do not follow some policy or agree to “make a donation.” Sending in the National Guard to states who do not ask for federal help by declaring an “emergency.” Bending the truth to fit his needs and objectives. Threatening to take away people’s visa when they disagree with a policy and choose to speak out on the subject. Normalizing actions that just a few months ago would have been unthinkable. Saying something outrageous one week and putting out an “executive order” the next week or month to make it policy.
I don’t know where our senators and representatives are but they seem to fall in right behind the president on anything he wants done. I have to think the president or his cronies are applying pressure of some sort on these people who have normally stood up for the country.
I have the same thoughts as I had back in Berlin in 2013, reading about Germany’s path to dictatorship. How can we Americans let this happen? Are we not aware of this process? Do we care? What are we thinking and doing to not speak up and stop this from happening? I can’t help but think we are on a similar path.
I hope and pray we have a better outcome than the German’s had!
Richard Shepardson lives in Warwick.