we battle on

January 25, 2025, marks eighty years since the end of the Battle of the Bulge. Although achieved at great cost, the Germans never did take Bastogne. The Battle of the Bulge was the deadliest battle for U.S. forces in World War II. 

As German fascists under Adolf Hitler were insisting that an elite few must lead - taking a nation forward by directing the actions of the rest - they demonized their opponents. 

victory of freedom over tyranny

By turning them into an other that their followers could hate and dividing the population so they could control it. In contrast to their system was democracy - based on the idea that all people should be treated equally before the law and should have a say in their government. 

The democratic government became popular then but as the memory of the dangers of fascism faded, opponents began to insist that such a government was leading the United States to communism. 

Tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, along with the deregulation of business and cuts to the social safety net, began to concentrate wealth at the top of society. As wealth moved upward, lawmakers chipped away at the postwar government that defended democracy.

Trump's second inauguration

And now, since the inauguration of President Donald Trump on Monday, the dismantling of that system is happening all at once. A source foresaw the end of the global influence the US has had since World War II [as reported by The Guardian]. 

“Freezing these international investments will lead our international partners to seek other funding partners - likely US competitors and adversaries - to fill this hole and displace the United States’ influence the longer this unlawful impoundment continues.” 

Trump has undertaken to dismantle the postwar democratic government at home, too. He has stopped the funding for repairing roads, bridges, airports, and ports that passed Congress in a bipartisan vote in 2022. 

He has taken away funding for new solar manufacturing plants and other new systems to address climate change. He has frozen all travel and communications at the Department of Health and Human Services, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.

Trump's executive orders 2025

Trump has declared a war on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. In his revoking of LBJ’s Executive Order 11246 - itself based on FDR’s Executive Order 8802 - he explicitly rejected the principles for which the Americans fought in World War II. 

We must band together in community and collaborate to resist and minimize the potential harm this will inflict upon us all. We need not stand by frozen and dazed - as a people, as a nation, we hold the fate of our future in our power. Trump and his kleptocrats be damned - let's win this war.