A House Divided

As I'm writing this, undocumented immigrants are being sent to Guantanamo Bay, or if they're lucky, deported to random Latin American countries. Federal agencies are being closed, hundreds of thousands of federal workers are losing their jobs, Americans are finding out how much of their everyday lives depend on federal programs and grants, and the stock market has tanked due to tariff threats and uncertainty. Whether you love what's happening around the country right now or hate it, you have to admit that America has changed dramatically since Trump took office on January 20th. And it's only been a few weeks.

If I had a nickel for every time I've heard someone say, "This isn't us" or "This can't be America" over the past few weeks, I'd have quite a few nickels. I hate to break it to everyone, but this IS America. This is US. They say the first stage of grief is denial, so let's work through this process together....

The Other Side

I don't like it when people say there are two Americas. Let's be clear, there is only one United States of America ... often imitated, never duplicated. However, the sentiment is clear. Our country is deeply divided--not in half, but into thirds. About a third of us have been watching the past few weeks in horror, while another third are cheering Trump on. The final third isn't really paying attention yet, but as soon as something affects them personally, they will be outraged.

It was 1858 when a senatorial candidate and future President named Abraham Lincoln said in a speech, "A house divided against itself, cannot stand." At the time, he was talking about the nation's internal divisions over slavery, but his words are just as true today. The nation erupted into Civil War three years after that speech, but we don't have to repeat history. Instead, we can learn from it.

Democrats, Republicans, independents, and non-voters: We are all Americans, and like it or not, we will all sink or swim together over the next four years. 

Growing up in the suburbs of Charleston, South Carolina, I was always surrounded by people who were different from me. As a black kid, I always went to predominantly white schools. As a Democrat, I was always a blue dot in a red state. And when it came to money, let's just say that my family always knew how to make working class look upper middle class chic. In order to survive this environment, I learned how to communicate and collaborate with people who saw the world differently. It wasn't always easy. In fact, sometimes it was downright hard. What got me through the worst of it was trying to understand the other side's motivations. Sometimes it helped us bridge the gap and find common ground. But other times, it helped me understand what I was up against and prepared me for the fight. 

I've seen competing explanations on social media for the deportations, mass firings, and government restructuring we have witnessed over the past few weeks. For some, Trump is basically a chimp with a machine gun, randomly attacking as many of his perceived enemies as possible. For others, the aggressive pace of the executive orders and his comments about disregarding court orders are signals of America's slide into authoritarianism. Still others have coalesced around the mantra "the cruelty is the point," highlighting attacks focused on communities of color, the trans and disabled communities, veterans, and other vulnerable groups. Some people even take it a step further, accusing Trump and his officials of outright white nationalism and making comparisons to Nazi Germany. However, when I reflect on the past few weeks, the only thing I can think about is Project 2025.

The Larger Plan: Project 2025

One of the hardest questions for some people to answer over the past few weeks has been WHY? Why are they firing so many federal workers? Why are they closing government agencies? Why is everything happening so fast? Why are some people celebrating Americans are losing their jobs?

Remember the back and forth during the campaign about whether Trump was affiliated with something called Project 2025? The truth is, it wasn't created by him, it was created for him. Project 2025 isn't some crackpot's online manifesto, it is a 900 page e-book that lays out a detailed plan for completely overhauling American government and was written in 2023 by a collection of the leading voices in the conservative movement. It is not hidden. Anyone can read it for themselves online here, and I'm working on a series of posts breaking down the plans for each government agency and comparing them with Trump action's in office so far.

For now, I'll let the Project 2025 authors speak for themselves:

"The 2025 Presidential Transition Project is the conservative movement’s unified effort to be ready for the next conservative Administration to govern at 12:00 noon, January 20, 2025. ...

History teaches that a President’s power to implement an agenda is at its apex during the Administration’s opening days. To execute requires a well-conceived, coordinated, unified plan and a trained and committed cadre of personnel to implement it. In recent election cycles, presidential candidates normally began transition planning in the late spring of election year or even after the party’s nomination was secured. That is too late. The federal government’s complexity and growth advance at a seemingly logarithmic rate every four years. For conservatives to have a fighting chance to take on the Administrative State and reform our federal government, the work must start now. ...

The long march of cultural Marxism through our institutions has come to pass. The federal government is a behemoth, weaponized against American citizens and conservative values, with freedom and liberty under siege as never before. The task at hand [is] to reverse this tide and restore our Republic to its original moorings ...

1. Restore the family as the centerpiece of American life and protect our children.

2. Dismantle the administrative state and return self-governance to the American people.

3. Defend our nation’s sovereignty, borders, and bounty against global threats.

4. Secure our God-given individual rights to live freely—what our Constitution calls 'the Blessings of Liberty.'"

Liberals and moderates: You need to understand that the other side genuinely thinks YOU are the threat to America. They think the liberal progress and growth of federal government that Democratic administrations have accomplished over the past few decades were mistakes, and they are trying to roll it all back. That's what "Make America Great Again" means. The past three weeks were not just about Trump's incompetence, Elon Musk's greed, or Nazis, so if that's all you've been focusing on, then you're ignoring the 900-page gorilla in the room. Project 2025 is the new agenda of the conservative movement in America, and we are seeing its implementation in real time.

This is the newest chapter in an ideological battle that goes all the way back to America's Founding. Throughout history, there has always been a group in American society that opposes federal power. It started with the Anti-Federalists who tried to stop us from adopting the Constitution. The first official opposition party in America was the Democratic-Republican Party, who accused Alexander Hamilton and George Washington of tyranny and wanted to return power to the states. To be clear, I'm not saying that what Trump is doing is normal, I'm saying that it is motivated by a homegrown extreme conservative movement, not European fascism. I'm also saying that Trump is just a vehicle for these actions. He's not a dictator calling all the shots. In fact, it's more accurate to think of him as a quarterback running plays from the Project 2025 playbook. 

I'm calling this a conservative movement because that's how they refer to themselves, but everyone needs to understand that this is not the same conservatism you've been hearing about your entire life. We're so far past cutting taxes! We're about to be living in Barry Goldwater's wet dreams.  Project 2025's supporters see the federal government as a problem that people need protection from. They don't believe it can offer any positive solutions; that's why they see most government spending as waste, fraud, and abuse. They're happy that Trump is firing people and closing agencies because they genuinely don't believe the government should be providing these services. They want to replace all federal funding with block grants to the states so that each state can make its own decisions about spending. They also want to transfer as many of the federal government's responsibilities to private companies and charities as possible. What they're hoping for is a radical restructuring of America's government and society. 

That being said, this is a political movement that organized, got their candidate elected, and is now trying to implement their insane agenda. That means that Democrats and other emerging political groups need to respond in kind. The first step is to read Project 2025 to understand what they are trying to do. Then elected officials need to come up with creative ways to block, slow down, or thwart those plans. Meanwhile, community leaders need to focus on creating a movement of their own. Invest the same time and energy they did. Gather your brightest minds, and engage with your grassroots. Don't just try to restore what was lost, create a plan to build something better.

The Path Forward

When all the votes were counted this past November, the difference in popular vote between Trump and Harris came down to 1.5%. It's clear; our nation is bitterly divided. We're divided by class, race, gender, age, sexual orientation, region, and political party. These divisions affect how we see the world, and they also affect how we see ourselves. 

I'll be honest, this was supposed to be a President's Day post. I didn't finish it yesterday because I wanted to end with a hopeful message about everyone coming together, but I couldn't quite get there. It's rough out here right now. So many people are losing their livelihoods or living in fear of deportation, and I don't want to disrespect them with a shallow "let's all get along." However, I also hear Lincoln's words ringing in my ears: "A house divided against itself, cannot stand." 

Like many of you, I have been overwhelmed by the past few weeks. Every day brings new mind-blowing developments, and it's a lot to process. I've been venting on social media like everyone else, but I haven't published a longer post in over a week. I didn't want to add to the fear and anxiety. I wanted to take my time and write something meaningful--something that would actually contribute to the conversation instead of just adding to the noise. I hope that I've done that.

Lookout for my Project 2025 series, and join the Civics for All community! Leave a comment below to continue the conversation. I want to hear your thoughts!