Almost 250 years ago, our founding fathers built this great nation with certain principles in mind: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all. They forged a constitution, and we have slowly built on that constitution with 27 crucial amendments and an assortment of laws to protect these principles. Throughout those two-and-a-half centuries, America grew to become one of the most powerful, opportunistic, and free countries on the planet. Yet, as of late, it seems all this hard work is doomed to be for naught.
In late September, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth introduced a new pledge that all members of the press must sign in order to get access to the Pentagon. This pledge states that the press may not disclose certain “sensitive information,” even if it is not classified, and they must have their articles “approved by proper authorization officials.” This new restriction is in complete violation of the First Amendment right to freedom of the press.
Americans have a right to the knowledge of what is occurring in government departments, especially in such an impactful sector of military and defense. Without the crucial tool of the press to disclose information, anything could be happening behind closed doors, and the public would never know. A department — supposedly dedicated to protecting its citizens — could be jeopardizing our safety, and we would be none the wiser.
However, this rampant law-breaking should be of no surprise coming from this administration. After all, these past 10 months have been filled to the brim with constitutional destruction. In March, Trump pledged to deport citizens exercising their right to protest, marking them as “domestic terrorists,” despite committing no crime — another First Amendment violation. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) has been found making warrantless arrests, a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment. Hundreds of men like Kilmar Ábrego García were deported to a maximum security prison in El Salvador without any due process, council, or jury trial violating their Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Amendment rights.
If you’re keeping count, that’s 60% of the Bill of Rights thrown right out the window. Trump has deported U.S. citizens, a violation of the 14th Amendment. He has repeatedly mentioned running for a third term, which would be a violation of the 22nd Amendment. Trump and his team have been in constant violation of the rules of our country for almost a full year, with seemingly no accountability.
The plethora of broken laws is not the only thing that worries me. What worries me most is Trump’s authoritarian control of a party that controls every branch of government. He nominated people like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Pete Hegseth, and others with absolutely zero qualifications in the branch they would be running, and the nominees were accepted without a second thought. An executive order from Trump banned research papers containing specific “dangerous words” like “gender” and “pregnant person.” He employs famous Nazi-tied rhetoric, such as the great replacement theory. Yet after all this, no one raises any contention.
Mike Johnson has refused to swear in representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, whose vote would be a tie-breaker in the release of the Epstein files — files proving his involvement in one of the largest child trafficking rings in history. Trump has introduced compacts for colleges and cut funding to those who disagree with his ideology, effectively holding academia hostage. Trump has been banning speech, banning protest, targeting diverse education, demonizing immigrants, and acting in a white-supremacist, authoritarian manner. If this administration wants to stop being compared to Nazis, it needs to stop acting like them.
The Nazis’ rise to power began slowly as a small political movement, then grew all at once. They hated the Weimar Republic’s commitment to democracy. They villainized the Jews, referring to them as subhuman in their rhetoric. After a period of economic struggle, the Nazis were able to convince the Germans that the Weimar Republic was weak and ineffective. The Nazis attempted the Beer Hall Putsch, a failed coup attempt that made Hitler famous among the Germans.
Once Hitler was elected Chancellor, Germany’s democracy may well have died right then and there. Hitler filled his cabinet with Nazis. He used political violence as an excuse to rid Germany of civil liberties. He militarized the police and created concentration camps. After the Enabling Act of 1933, Hitler was able to pass laws without the approval of parliament, even laws that violated the German Constitution. In 1934, Hitler combined the offices of Chancellor and President, and became the official dictator of Germany. History may not repeat itself, but it rhymes.
The past ten months have been frightening, to say the least. Slowly but surely, our civil liberties have been getting stripped away in front of our eyes. These liberties are crucial to our safety as citizens and to our God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Without these rights, America will fall down the same path Naz—
THIS PAPER DOES NOT FOLLOW THE NEW REGULATIONS SET BY THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION, AND ITS CONCLUSION HAS BEEN STRICKEN. PLEASE IGNORE AND CONTINUE WITH YOUR DAY.
The opinions expressed within this piece represent the views of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Jefferson Independent.
Please stick to writing about sports Kyle.