I don’t want to presume that it’s a big deal to anyone else, but I feel like I need to offer an explanation as to why I’ve been unable to respond to comments regularly and in a timely manner as of late.

I’m having a lot of difficulty coping with the political situation here in the States. In all of my sixty-one years, I’ve never seen anything as destructive and sinister and downright evil as this fascist assault on our democracy being waged by the political right-wing and its reckless and violent maga base (and no, I won’t dignify that hate group by capitalizing those letters).

I lived through Nixon’s Watergate scandal in the ’70s and recall the jaw-dropping lawlessness of that foul and utterly despicable president and his feckless lackeys, the break-ins and lies and cover-ups and missing tapes and midnight purges and the shame all of it brought on America. And when it ended, finally, I remember thinking that nothing like that could ever happen again in America, that we’d be on guard to prevent another scandal of such proportions, and that the always morally suspect republican party had learned its lesson.

It has not.

And now, here we are, four months into a new fascist America, headed by a convicted felon, adjudicated rapist, and traitor who is busily blasting his way through our Constitution and annihilating our government, with a little help from his co-president and world’s richest asshole. Those of us who possess critical thinking skills saw this coming when this monster announced his intentions on his golden escalator to hell a decade ago. We knew what would occur if this psychopath somehow found his way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And we were right. With more than a little assistance from our biggest international adversary, this monster stole the White House in 2016 and set in motion his dark vision of what has been called America’s New Reich.

Everyone knows what happened after that. Needless to say, we are in deep shit now. America is on its knees and this monster wields the executioner’s axe. Millions of American citizens are in grave danger. Hate and violence are on the rise. Is a second civil war imminent? Likely so. The level of corruption is staggering and incomprehensible. The republican-controlled Congress is compromised and has fully capitulated to this madman. The conservative Judiciary has granted this monster near-total immunity. The Executive branch has been weaponized and turned into a virtual hit-squad to be used against political enemies and dissent. Right-wing media spreads conspiracy theories, lies and propaganda day and night. Ignorant, racist, bigoted people are emboldened to retaliate against imaginary threats with vitriol and fists and guns. The social safety net is set to be eliminated. The poor, elderly, sick and disabled, as well as women, immigrants, racial minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, and other marginalized groups have become targets of both right-wing politicians and fellow citizens. People are being kidnapped off the streets in broad daylight by unidentifiable masked assailants posing as ICE agents and shipped sans habeas corpus to gulags in foreign lands. Democratic lawmakers and non-partisan judges doing their jobs are being arrested on trumped-up charges (pun most definitely intended). And a new budget bill that will likely become law soon will gift billionaires trillions of dollars stolen from the poor and working class.

America has lost its global standing as that beacon of light on the hill, that shining example of democracy at which the rest of the world once marveled. “The land of the free, the home of the brave…” Not anymore. Now, our fascist Dear Leader cozies up to despots, attacks allies in the Oval Office, and openly desires to invade and conquer our neighbors and other nations in his psychotic, demented aspirations of expanding the American Empire.

I’m struggling, folks. Personally, I stand to lose everything because of these fascists. I rely on the social safety net because I’m disabled. I will lose my income, my healthcare and my housing sometime soon, and I will be rendered homeless. I am not prepared for this. I cannot survive as a homeless person. And this is constantly on my mind.

I never thought I’d live to see the death of my country. I never thought the republican party–greedy and power-lusting as it’s always been–would become turncoats and devolve into a death cult and go for democracy’s throat. Any thoughts of creativity, of writing poetry, die in infancy now. My mind is blank, nothing but the dull roar of fear and dread echoing between my ears.

So, please forgive me for any delays in responding to your kind comments on my blog. Please forgive me for neglecting your blogs. My blog is my only safe place and I never wanted it to become a political blog (and I still don’t). But this needs to be said because it’s the truth: America is in trouble and people will die because of this new fascist regime. Those 77 million people who voted for this—who voted for hate and violence and revenge and bigotry and discrimination and lower egg prices—will never represent the America I once knew and loved. They have brought shame and disgrace upon not only the United States but upon themselves and the rest of us as well. Those people are not Americans—they have betrayed America.

And now, a humble request…

Please, if you can, if you’re able, if you’re courageous, if you care about America and democracy and your fellow citizens, do whatever you can to fight this fascist regime. Speak up, use your voices, attend protest rallies, write and call your representatives, sign petitions, volunteer, talk to your families and friends and neighbors, speak truth to power. We need you now more than ever, and as one of my favorite online influencers has said, the power of the people is greater than the people in power. Shine the light of truth into this present darkness. Do something–anything–to resist. It’s up to us because no one else is going to save us from this most serious existential threat our democracy has ever faced.

Thanks for reading, friends.