Trump's Descent Into Megalomania is Accelerating

[Atreus]

50. Trump Isn't a King Unless We Act Like Subjects

I understand the fear in this post; Trump’s attacks on democratic norms and his megalomaniac behavior are alarming. But despair is exactly what authoritarianism feeds on. If people believe nothing can be done, that’s when authoritarians become unstoppable.

Yes, our institutions are under strain. Courts hesitate. Congress plays along. Even journalists, who should be our first line of accountability, too often fail us. When JD Vance claimed WWII was “won through negotiation,” that should’ve been front-page corrected in real time. Instead, it slid by. The truth matters: WWII ended with the unconditional surrender of Germany, Italy, and Japan. Pretending otherwise rewrites history — and every time falsehoods go unchallenged, we weaken our ability to resist larger lies.

The same goes for corporations that cave instantly to political pressure, or lawmakers who put party loyalty over the Constitution. These failures make it feel like the walls are closing in. But here’s the other side: we still have tools Trump and his imitators can’t take away, unless we surrender them. Courts do sometimes hold the line. Communities are organizing. Journalists can rise to the moment if we demand better of them. And the ballot box is still one of the most powerful weapons citizens have ever wielded against would-be strongmen.

And this isn’t the first time America has faced democratic stress tests. We endured McCarthyism in the 1950s, when fear and lies corrupted institutions; and we overcame it when truth-tellers refused to be silenced. We survived Nixon’s abuses of power in the 1970s; because a press that did its job, a Congress that acted, and citizens who demanded accountability refused to let him crown himself above the law. These moments remind us that authoritarians look invincible right up until they aren't.

Trump isn’t a king. He only gains that power if we start acting like subjects. Every vote cast, every march walked, every conversation that refuses to normalize authoritarian creep chips away at his illusion of invincibility.

We owe it to our kids to show them that democracy isn’t something fragile we helplessly watch collapse; it’s something we actively defend. The antidote to fear is engagement. The antidote to lies is truth. And the antidote to authoritarianism is a people who refuse to give up.

Stay loud. Stay hopeful. Stay active.