Leading up to the Holocaust, there was an organized campaign to turn neighbour against neighbour. Through pamphlets, posters and control of the media, a community was turned on each other to divert their glance from what was really happening.
What WAS happening? Fascist leaders had decided that they wanted only white, Christian people in Germany. No Jews, no immigrants like the Romy people, no gays.
And…nobody who spoke out against their agenda.
Political Opponents
Communists, Social Democrats, and labour unionists spoke out, and mass arrests began in early 1933. These were intensified by the Reichstag Fire Decree, which suspended civil liberties and allowed arrests without charge.
(bpk, Berlin / Art Resource, NY)
The Nazis established Dachau, the first concentration camp, to handle this influx of prisoners. There were an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 taken into “protective custody” with 27,000 (mostly political prisoners) sent to concentration camps by the end of the year. Then they banned all other political parties.
Division
Enter the 21st-century pandemic, in which a coordinated social media campaign was launched to turn people against one another. Misinformation reigned supreme, and distrust of the science, government and media was sown. The “other” became your best friend, your family member, your coworker, your boss. This was the beginning of our fracture. You were either with me or against me. No room for debate.
Once divided, we voted for our “side,” even though the evidence pointed to it being a poor choice. We read only the “pamphlets and posters” interjected into our social media algorithms. It became easy to consider someone else an enemy.
Now they’ve named it. For centuries, we’ve had people who were undeniably racist and that has persisted. Nonetheless, progress had been made. The white Christian Nationalists (who display no Christian values for the record) established a new “them” – the brown people. They began with immigrants and anyone who looked like them, including Native Americans. Now they’ve moved on to anyone who defends them – even if they are white and Christian. Like the Reichstag Fire Decree, federal immigration and border officials have been allowed to deny rights, including the right to due process.
In just one year, we are watching progress roll back more quickly than we ever imagined. In the U.S., DEI is painted as an evil plot against white folks. Women in the military are painted as unfit (despite undergoing the same tests). Memorials to Black History are removed. In Canada, Pierre Poilievre’s coinciding statements about DEI should be noted in this context.
Now, “immigrant” is perceived as a diabolical evil. Rapists and criminals all. The stated agenda is to rid America of the “worst of the worst,” and likely some of them have been caught up in the sweep. But the majority are those who display citizenship, are in the midst of completing the steps to “do it the right way” – apprehended at court, and children born in America.
As of November 15, 2025, approximately 5% of individuals booked into ICE detention had a violent criminal conviction. Roughly 8% of detainees had a conviction for either a violent or property crime. About 73% had no criminal conviction at all. ( CATO)
A 5-year-old boy in a bunny hat is taken into a detention centre when his Daddy is detained – even though neighbours, friends and relatives spoke up to care for him. The conditions in these detention camps are inhumane. Liam was a sunshiny, happy child who trusted in the goodness of his world. None of his teachers describe his as the “worst of the worst.” That innocent trusting little boy is forever lost, and I mourn that loss.
(Columbia Heights Public Schools/AFP/Getty Images)
A white mother says, “I’m not mad at you,” to an agent, while she tries to respond to conflicting commands. He shoots her several times. A doctor is denied the chance to render medical aid. Video evidence shows her turning her tires away from the officer to leave the area because he has pulled a gun. Some argue that her decision to stop was unwise, but did she deserve to be fatally wounded for it? This mother of a 6-year-old boy is labelled a “domestic terrorist.”
As Dwight Eisenhower once said,
“Get it all on record now – get the films – get the witnesses -because somewhere down the road of history some bastard will get up and say that this never happened.”
Given some of the unconstitutional and frankly abusive treatment between federal officers and citizens, a white male nurse is filming as an arrest takes place. He sees a woman shoved to the ground, and operating on a nurse’s instinct, he steps in to try to de-escalate, as he’s trained to do. He turns to the woman on the ground, and as he tries to help her up, he is dragged backward, beaten by 7 men, dearmed – then shot in the back – 11 times. His crime? Being a helper. Recording what will be a dark chapter in America’s history. And as if being publicly executed isn’t bad enough, the government tries to tell us we didn’t see what we saw.
“An individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun,” she said at a press conference at the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Washington, DC. “The officers attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently. Fearing for his life and for the lives of his fellow officers around him, an agent fired defensive shots. This looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement,” Noem
I was awake that night not just because I had watched a man executed, but because the government wasn’t happy with just assassinating him; they had to assassinate his good character, too. As I learned who he truly was, an RN like my daughter, treating veterans like my son-in-law in an ICU like the one that saved my son’s life, the rage began to boil over…
And now AI is being used to generate false content about this man. In one, he is shown holding a gun, although we all saw that hand holding a camera. In another, a hospital administrator is stating he was fired – but the administrator doesn’t exist, and Alex was never fired. Nonetheless, the algorithm will continue to sort people to those images – and they will believe.
Again, we are turned on each other when the ones we should be watching are “up.” Those in governmental authority, those with unprecedented financial influence.
The other is not the “worst of the worst.” The other is anyone who goes against a government fueled by a thirst for power and racism. Just as Hitler did decades ago. “Never again” was a lie we told ourselves, and it breaks my heart.
In my eyes, the worst of the worst appears to be them.
Contaminated food and water, no proper blankets, no kindness – for children.
Sexual assault, harassment and forced labour complaints. Lost family members. Detention camps with sub-human treatment. If you have read any history, you will see reflections of another dark time. Recognizing that the Holocaust was its own unique, horrific event doesn’t mean it can’t serve as a warning when similarities arise.
The American Anthem
50 years ago, I learned the words to the American national anthem when we hosted Montana students at our Alberta school. A repeated phrase from that anthem keeps coming back to me as I watch what is going on in America right now.
“O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave…”
While I observe a rollback of the freedoms granted by the American Constitution, I can also see those who take their responsibility to be brave very seriously. They are told that “comply” is how they avoid death, even when to comply means handing over their constitutional rights. In many cases, they don’t hand over those rights willingly, and doing so in this current environment is as brave as it gets. They are continuing to show up and support their neighbours – even as other neighbours are slain and detained for doing so. Every successful revolution begins like this, and they inspire me.
The U.S. Constitution
Until recent events, I had only a passing understanding of America’s constitution, other than the brandishing of the 2nd amendment to keep guns in hands, despite guns being the number one cause of child death in America – and only in America.
But as the last American campaign highlighted, there were dangers to Americans’ rights enshrined in Project 2025. It has been activated, with mass deportations and undue force, and is only overshadowed by Project 2026, which will target the non-nuclear family. A year ago, you likely couldn’t have envisioned what you are seeing now. It may be wise to imagine what Project 2026 may bring – because we have learned that anything is possible.
Right now, my neighbours are seeing their rights eroded.
First Amendment
- Freedom of Speech and Press: Protects the right to express views without government punishment, including print, digital, and social media.
- Freedom of Assembly and Petition: Protects the right to gather peacefully, protest, and petition the government for redress of grievances.
TikTok, now American-owned, is removing any videos which are critical of the Trump administration.
A program highlighting the abuses in detention centres was cancelled, despite prior approval, by Bari Weiss, the Editor in Chief, who was put in place by the Trump administration.
Top career journalists are being fired after asking tough questions of the president.
A network cancels a comedian for making jokes about Dear Leader. (As comedians have always done.)
People are being shot in the back in broad daylight. Repeatedly. Because they spoke up. Because they gathered. Others are being detained.
On a larger scale, the Trump administration is:
- threatening and retaliating against individuals and news outlets critical of it.
- attempting to cut federal funding to universities that do not crack down on protests or that maintain diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
- targeting and sanctioning law firms and lawyers for representing clients or causes the administration opposes.
Fourth Amendment Rights (protects individuals against “unreasonable searches and seizures” by the government, ensuring the right to privacy in their persons, houses, papers, and effects)
- Federal agents are reportedly using surveillance tactics, such as pole cameras and data collection (including internet and financial records), without proper warrants or judicial oversight. They are using facial recognition software, taking pictures of license plates and threatening that people will enter a “domestic terrorist database.”
- Issuing guidance that ICE agents can enter homes without a judicial warrant, which legal experts argue is a clear Fourth Amendment violation.
- They are breaking car windows without any reasonable reason to make the traffic stop in the first place.
Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment Rights (Due Process and Equal Protection):
- Executive orders have tried to end birthright citizenship, a right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment’s plain text, though federal courts have repeatedly blocked these orders.
- Using the Alien Enemies Act to accelerate mass deportations without due process for non-citizens, including legal permanent residents and students, in peacetime situations.
- Targeting states that voted for the Democratic candidate in the 2024 election by cancelling congressionally-appropriated clean energy grants, which was ruled a violation of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause (equal protection).
- Attempting to remove employment protections for tens of thousands of federal workers (via plans like “Schedule F”), allowing them to be fired arbitrarily and replaced with political loyalists, which raises due process concerns.
Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances:
- Impounding or freezing trillions of dollars of congressionally appropriated funds, which legal scholars argue is a “blatant violation” of Congress’s exclusive “power of the purse” as defined in the Constitution.
- Ignoring court orders and attempting to undermine the judiciary’s power to hold the executive branch accountable.
- Issuing executive orders that attempt to seize control over election rules and processes, which the Constitution reserves for Congress and the states.
I have so much more to say, but who reads a blog this damn long? While the world I grew up in had its problems, I lived long enough to see progress. It took decades. In just one year, many of those rights, and much of history, have been rolled back and erased. In another year, more of the freedoms our neighbours have enjoyed will be gone.
Don’t fool yourself that this is just Trump. He was just a useful tool. A guy who lives on flattery and will do the bidding of those who tell him he is great. While I abhor the man, he is just a small part of the threat that faces America. The rot goes deep. If it didn’t, the Republican majority would be acting with the Democrats to end this.
And Canada, the sites are on us too. There is no Jesus in Christian Nationalism. Trust me on this. Pay attention to the slogans tossed around up here. While we may not agree with everything our current government does, the time for party fealty is over. Our choice is not right vs. left, but right vs. wrong. Look for those who will protect us against the threat, not those who open the door wide to receive it.
Path to Pasture 