Editor,

These are the warning signs of fascism:

1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism

2. Disdain for Human Rights

3. Identifying Enemies as a Unifying Cause

4. Rampant Sexism

5. Supremacy of the Military

6. Control of the Mass Media

7. Religion and Government Intertwined

8. Corporate Power Protection

9. Suppression of Labor Power

10. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts

11. Obsession with Crime and Punishment

12. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption

13. Controlling Elections

14. Attacking Voting Rights

This is Donald Trump, who has shown us time and time again his affinity for all that Fascism represents. We were warned by generals and those who worked in his administration. And yet, 49.8% of the electorate (hardly a mandate!) still voted for him in a razor-thin election. And, if he had lost, we would be inundated with his cries of a “rigged election.”

Democracy is still threatened and the fight for it must go on. Otherwise, 2024 will be the last fair, free and democratic election of our lifetimes. Project 2025 spelled out in detail what we could expect if Trump was elected. Reality is now setting in. (Rumor has it that some Trump voters are now rueing their vote.) Well, it’s too late for regrets. When you buy the ticket, you get the ride!

Valetta Faye

Oak Harbor