“The land of the free and the home of the brave.” That’s the end of the United States’ National Anthem. Bravery and Freedom are what the U.S.A has stood for since they were mere colony fighting for independence. But what happens when the free become the oppressed and the brave become the silent?
As of 2024, the U.S. government and society have changed a lot. Politics have become more intense, laws have been changed, and it feels like our very own constitution is being rewritten. While some change is necessary, others can be harmful. Project 2025 and a future Project 2026 contain details of future and current plans that will only further divide our split nation. The document describes actions taken against minorities, such as controlling women’s rights and bodies, erasing LGBTQ+ stories and lives, violence against immigrants, destroying basic human rights, and restoring a nation where people who do not fit MAGA’s “Ideal family” are stripped of rights. The worst part? All of this is public information. People can see exactly what is going to happen, yet they still endorse the plan or choose to do nothing at all. In summary, the document sets the United States back a couple of centuries.
Let’s pretend the U.S.’s whole population is divided into sixths. One of those sixths represents MAGA’s idea of a “perfect” U.S. citizen. (Approximately all white, straight, cis, neurotypical, able-bodied men.) Now imagine the other five-sixths. The people who don’t fit the standard. If all those people had zero rights or freedoms, how many people in your neighbourhood, class, workplace, etc, would still be there?
If you’ve been keeping up with the news, then the term “ICE” has most likely been a big topic. ICE stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They were created to supervise immigration activity and keep track of illegal immigrants. Since the re-election of President Donald Trump, however, they have become a force of violent white supremacists striking down anyone who gets in their way without consequences. Over 50 people have been ruthlessly killed by ICE, and since October 2025, 56,392 people have been deported from the U.S.A. After doing some digging into ICE’s hiring system and employees, reporters like Mike Pearson from their article “How are ICE Agents Recruited and Who are They?” on the In Focus website, I learned some rather alarming information. On top of the age restrictions for hiring being scrapped, ICE agents only train for about eight weeks, despite some having no experience in the enforcement occupation field. Most ICE agents seem to have rather flawed and false views on their occupation. Many claim that immigrants are “bad guys” whom they hope to deport, while they are depicted as the “good guys” who will “save the country” thanks to President Trump. While some agents take pleasure in causing harm to immigrants, the few that do not are submissive, claiming that “A job is a job.” It would seem that the government has bribed an army of compliant extremists with the promise of unexcused violent action to do their bidding.
Unfortunately, rather than using their voices to help the persecuted, approximately 62% of the public has chosen to ignore the ongoing threat. Hoping that it will eventually disappear. The truth is, it won’t. The world has seen moments in history similar to this one. From 1933 to 1945, there was the Holocaust. In 1942, there were the Japanese Internment Camps. There are countless points in history where people were suffering and being treated inhumanely, yet hardly anyone spoke out against these tragedies. I won’t deny that fear is a powerful thing; in these times, it makes sense to be afraid. It’s human nature. But how many lives could have been saved if more people had spoken up? Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel said in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, “Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
While most of these problems are being put into action by President Trump, he is not the main problem. President Donald Trump is not the source of our problems, but a representation of our weakness. The spark to start the fire, essentially. He was the final blow to our already cracked system that caused the whole thing to come crumbling down, turning our democratic republic into a fascist monarchy. If one man with money, outrageous ideas, and followers was able to deconstruct our nation this quickly, then it’s clear things need to change for the better. It’s terrible that lessons such as these are learned through tragedies, but sadly, sometimes teachings must be learned the hard way for them to fully sink in.
We’ve seen people like this before in history. Our country has regrettably dealt with injustice before. Justice always prevails, but at what cost? How many U.S citizens have to be slaughtered before the people in power do something? How many more news headlines reporting destruction have to be published before things change?
Our future doesn’t have to be like this. We have the power to make a difference. It’s one of the greatest things about our country: having the freedom to speak. We cannot let ourselves be controlled by fear. We cannot continue to let the abused be treated with such cruelty. We can make America a home again. There is power in a voice; all it takes is someone to use it.