Worrying is a part of me. I have been a worrier all my life. I wish I was not a worrier—life seems to be easier for those who don’t worry so much—but I’m in my late fifties now and resigned to the fact that I will likely worry for the rest of my days. I worry about big things and not-so-big things, or what others think of as “little things.” I’ve been told, repeatedly, by numerous people, not to worry so much. I try not to worry about their admonishments.

All of this is to say that I cannot not worry about the state of the world at this moment, and particularly the state of this country I live in, not to mention the state I live in within this country. I’m not planning to leave either the state or the country any time soon, so I can’t just ignore all that’s going on. I’m not a head-in-the-sand kind of person. Actually, I’ve long been confrontational.

The latest cause for worry has to do with Jimmy Kimmel’s show being put on indefinite hiatus, which, of course, is not about Jimmy Kimmel at all, just as my state government removing rainbow crosswalks is not about safety. In both cases, the government wants to control what citizens are permitted to express, whether the form of expression is telling a joke on TV or painting colors on a street. The government wants to dictate what can be said in order to dictate how citizens should think, what we should believe, who we should care about, or not. Of course, there’s no way for the government to know exactly what a citizen thinks if she does not express her thoughts, so a silent person may, in fact, vehemently disagree with the government, but that’s ok with them so long as she remains silent. And compliant.

These actions taken by our government are about power, about control. Both our federal government as well as many of our state governments are now dominated by people whose only goal is to amass power for themselves. To make things the way they want them to be. To take whatever they desire and to do with it whatever they please.

They intend to achieve this by instilling fear in all of us, and by removing anyone who is an impediment to their goals, laws be damned. The more afraid we are, the easier we will be to control. This is the playbook of every bully everywhere, and the bullies are now in charge of our government. They have begun kidnapping people off the streets. They have begun militarizing our cities. They have even begun destroying boats in international waters without authority. They will seize control by force, they want us to know.

Whether or not we will be able to hold a free election for a new president in 2028 is now a question rather than a fact we can rely on.

Yes, I’m a lifelong worrier, so I understand why my words here may not have the impact I’d like them to. What I ask is that you take a good look around, pay attention to what’s changing, pay attention to who is allowed to speak and who is being silenced. Not so that you join me in worrying, but so that you can determine what action you’re willing to take and when. So that you’ll be prepared rather than caught off guard.

I am not ok with living under a dictatorship. Are you?

Because I do think that’s where all this is headed. That’s a strong word, I know. And it’s difficult to believe that we—America!—would allow that to happen. We, who pride ourselves on our freedoms! Well, I believe in being direct and in using the best word possible to describe a thing. Look it up: Dictator, a person with unlimited government power; Fascism, severe societal regimentation with forcible suppression of opposition. No, we’re not there yet, but when I look at everything that’s happening, I see people in government positions trying to force rapid change onto our society in a way that grants them power and control without regard to existing laws or conventions and without regard to how these changes will negatively impact those of us who are just trying to live our lives without any delusions of grandeur.

I believe it matters that everyone who suspects we’re headed toward fascism speaks up. I do not believe that the vast majority of us want what those now in power have planned for us. I don’t think we want to have to watch what we say or how we say it everywhere we go. I don’t think we want militarized forces on our streets apprehending people without due process. I don’t think we want to start unnecessary wars—wars that our children may potentially lose their lives fighting.

I believe that each of us can find a way, even if it’s a small thing, to fight against this turn towards fascism and to fight for the kind of society we want to live in and want our children and grandchildren to experience going forward. For me, that means fighting for free speech, fighting for due process, fighting for peaceful solutions to problems wherever possible. All the worry in the world won’t fix things. Only action will.

photo by The unnamed via Flickr