As the United States rapidly recedes into fascism, finding one’s place and purpose is the least of our priorities as young people. How does one operate under an authoritarian regime? How do you behave in public, in the workspace? What actions do you take in your personal life? There are times at my job as an artist when I stand still in the hallway for a moment, and feel that what I am doing is utterly pointless. I cannot imagine what it is like for those still in school. A network of autocracy is spreading while the future disintegrates for younger generations.
Democracy in the U.S. has always been illusory, with those in power tasked with protecting wealth rather than improving the lives of the American people. And yet, the performance is crumbling as the Democratic Party struggles to pretend it cares about the inalienable rights and basic dignity that should be afforded to every human being. While thousands of public stewards were losing their jobs to make room for the poisoned egos of oligarchs, New Jersey senator Cory Booker filibustered for 25 hours against nothing. There was no bill on the table which he was preventing the passage of—his filibuster was a hollow PR stunt. Two days later, he voted against a pair of resolutions that would have prevented $8.8 billion worth of taxpayer money from being spent on bombing children.
Opposition that cedes to extremism is emblematic in states transitioning from democratic to authoritarian rule. It is precisely the “soft fascism” of neoliberals who insist on capitulating to Republicans that contributes to the rightward shift in this country. Emerson students, current and former, will recall the events of last April when 118 peaceful protesters were violently arrested. While blood was washed off the bricks of 2 Boylston Place Alleyway and multiple other encampments across the city were broken up, Mayor Michelle Wu—who has abandoned the progressive principles that got her elected—defended this overt act of state violence.
Over the course of the next year, the Emerson College administration and President Jay Bernhardt responded to this suppression of constitutionally protected rights not by standing up for their students but by enacting measures to silence dissent. Emerson continues to be combative with its students and faculty whose only demand is that the college stand by its stated values and not silence students who feel it is their moral obligation to protest a genocide. The groundwork laid last year by blue city mayors and liberal arts institutions preempted the current conservative attack on colleges, universities, and their international students. Gestapo units of plainclothes, masked ICE officers in unmarked vehicles, like those who forcibly disappeared Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk, are abducting anyone ludicrously deemed “a threat to national security” without any adherence to due process rights.
Given these dire circumstances, how do we proceed? The only incorrect option is to do nothing. I do not mean to dismiss or discredit the legitimate fears induced by a government that is eroding freedoms, manufacturing a recession, and enriching the ultra-wealthy. There is a palpable sense of tension from the rural communities of Nebraska to the boroughs of New York. But what we cannot do is submit to paralysis. It is okay to be afraid, but it is also urgently necessary to act even if you are afraid. Because what has started with immigrants and students linked to pro-Palestine protests will eventually spread to U.S. citizens, and then to the comfortable and the privileged. Unless you are a billionaire, your life is going to get worse. In the face of autocracy, we must do exactly that which autocracy seeks to snuff out.
Never let those who have the power to improve or worsen your life tell you that your neighbor is your enemy. The gay, the transgender, the Black, the Muslim people in your town are not the reason why housing is unaffordable, healthcare is inaccessible, groceries are so expensive, or that decent paying jobs have disappeared. Behaviors, actions, and the kinds of people the state deems a threat are a guidebook for how to live within and combat a dictatorship. Introduce yourself to these people, connect with these people, organize with these people. Educate yourself voraciously, in and outside of scholarly spaces.
Regardless of the support or lack thereof of the Emerson administration, connect with fellow students, staff, faculty, alumni and support one another’s organization efforts. Participate in a protest or boycott. Engage in your local community and join an advocacy group. Create art of every kind. Art that is resistive and antagonistic to deepening inhumanity. The good nature of the human spirit must never submit to the fist of corrupt authority. And so, we must create.
Samuel Cahill is a proud Emerson alum.