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This past Saturday, military brigades took to the streets of the capitol in Washington D.C. – a display of dictatorial power occurring on flag day and, conveniently, just in time for President Donald Trump’s birthday.

In subversion, thousands of protests made waves across the United States. These protests decreed that America would have “No Kings,” as Trump continues to lead in a way that mimics authoritarian power.

The American people’s demand for justice in government is vital to catching a dictatorship before it can fully take fruition and strip our country of democracy.

Trump isn’t the first man to cling to power with too tight a grip, but assuring people that they’ll “never have to vote again” and undermining democratic processes demonstrates a new level of exploiting his position.

And despite his supporters’ tendencies to invalidate this parallel, many of the moves Trump has made mimic Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime. In the U.S., we face repeated history and are given the chance to halt Trump before he takes things further than he already has.

As recent U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement raids occur all over the country, we’ve seen families ripped apart and children violently taken into custody. These corrupt enforcement organizations abuse their privilege under the guise of doing their job, just as the Nazis had.

We can’t normalize home countries and ethnicities being wielded as weapons just as Hitler had. The reality is this: where you are born is a chance of luck. It can face you with many hindrances or many privileges. Those who choose to cross borders are usually doing so to escape disparities and persecutions.

Trump and his followers seem to believe they’re the only immigrants with rights to America. The truth is no one is illegal on stolen land. Unless he wants to make the claim that we are all illegal immigrants – besides indigenous peoples, which is closer to the truth than the lies he spews to displace families – he has no right to utilize such violence.

These unjust deportations and this horrifying fracturing of America closely follows in the steps of what German citizens faced at the start of Hitler’s rise.

“Terrible things are happening outside. At any time of night and day, poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes,” Anne Frank, a girl we have listened to the words of since elementary school, wrote in her diary. It’s incredibly bone-chilling to realize how her words apply to the current state of America.

No matter how Trump may claim to “not feel like a king” and that he’s doing what’s right for the American people, he’s moving in direct correlation to how all dictators do: with selfishness, violence and pure greed. He is wielding bigotry in the same manner Hitler had, and we have the chance to stop him before it’s too late.

Since taking office only six months ago, Trump has done everything in his power to undermine the rights of the people he’s meant to be serving.

He’s bragged about how the tariff pause made him and his billionaire friends even richer. He’s expanded the use of immigration enforcement to target college students simply here to pursue an education. He’s made consistent harmful executive actions that show one thing: he’s a fascist that couldn’t care less about our democracy.

Although Trump and his administration’s actions are discouraging and devastating, we as a democratic body of people have the right to voice our oppositions. The “No Kings” protest proved just that, being one of the largest coordinated efforts against Trump.

The Trump administration wants us to feel as if our neighbors are the enemies, as if those innocent families being ripped apart are dangerous and as if wanting basic human rights makes someone a criminal. The only enemies in our country sit in The White House.

U.S. citizens have the chance to prevent this rise of fascism in our country from taking complete control. We don’t need to allow Trump to rise to the authoritarian power Hitler had. The protests are only the start – we have to continue to take purposeful action against this threat to our democracy if we intend to keep America what it’s meant to be: the land of the free and a place with “liberty and justice for all.”

No matter how disenfranchised the government wants us to feel, we’re more powerful united. It’s our duty as both privileged and oppressed American citizens to protect those being seriously harmed under these dictatorial actions, and to protect our country.

As said in the preamble of The Declaration of Independence upon which our country is founded, “…whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

I can assure you that whatever Trump is doing doesn’t include our safety or happiness, but only enables his own agenda.

Organizations such as Indivisible and The Lincoln Project are consistently making moves to resist the Trump administration’s agenda, and they’re always looking for volunteers and new members to stand beside them. If you feel unsure on what your next move is but you wish to resist, look into organizations such as the ones above.

Simply staying educated, too, is powerful. To ensure voices the government tries to silence are heard is vital. Journalists are being arrested for contradicting the current administration in any way and are being barred from The White House itself. This is the sign of a government attempting to keep its citizens in the dark, and is a direct violation of our first amendment rights.

Again, we’re in a unique place that gives us constant access to news and information – don’t underestimate how powerful that is, and how powerful your voice can be.

Unlike those under Hitler’s Nazi regime, we can hear the bells of fascism rising much clearer because we have seen this happen before. We have the opportunity to stay informed and connected, using modern technology. With consistent actions, using our resources, we can make long standing changes.

Dayna Roberts is a junior majoring in creative writing. She can be reached at dbrobert@syr.edu.

Published on June 18, 2025 at 8:14 pm