1. United States
2. Tenn.
3. Letter

When innocent citizens you care about land in a gulag in El Salvador, unceremoniously and unlawfully forced into the custody of a South American fascist nation primarily known for their cruelty, what will you do? What about when it is you (a citizen who is not innocent) being forced into a foreign gulag because an AI decided you no longer count as a person? Will you still preach anti-abortion rhetoric to control women? Will you still preach freedom and liberty under a system that loathes those values? Will you ever open your eyes to the clear and present danger in front of you, or will you continue to feed Americans who trusted you to the Trump administration? Your legacy is stained, and you’ll never wash it out. You can, however, stop it from getting worse. The aide reading this can also make changes. Your work for these representatives allows them to continue their work to revive fascism in the United States that their grandparents and yours fought to wipe from the earth. Compliance with the administration is not an option. If you want a nation in four years, you have to gather the confidence to defend the things you know matter - and none of those things will be bolstered, defended, or considered by your party leadership. You have to act on your own. You have to do your job. The nation will never forgive you, and neither will your children, for the world you leave behind otherwise. You’re currently telling yourself that this note is hysterical, and trying desperately to protect your self-image as a clever and righteous protector of America. Maybe consider that you’re the bad guy. Because you are, and no history book will ever tell it any other way. The world knows the score, and our hegemony is crumbling. You don’t control the narrative anymore, but you can control the shallowly-vengeful fascist you put in the White House.