This Week in Fascism: AI, Autocracy, and the March Toward Authoritarianism
By The Mayor of Funkytown — Political Writer, Resistance Organizer, and Chronicler of Authoritarian Creep
I want to sit down with you this week and have a real talk. Because if you’re feeling like the country is sliding into something darker and meaner every single day, you’re not imagining it. Fascism isn’t some far-off possibility anymore. It’s here, right now, creeping in through executive orders, militarized police, Christian nationalist pulpits, and even the phones and laptops we’re using at this very moment.
Let’s walk through what went down this week together. And I’ll warn you — it’s chilling. But the point isn’t to scare you. It’s to remind you that we still have the power to push back.
🤖 AI as a Tool of Control
You know how everyone talks about AI like it’s just about making life easier — answering emails, writing code, even helping you cook? Well, this week we got a harsh reminder: in the wrong hands, AI is a tool for authoritarian control. Cognitive scientist Gary Marcus called it “techno-fascism,” and I can’t shake that phrase.
“AI can be used to centralize surveillance, erode democratic choice, and manipulate public opinion on a massive scale.” — Gary Marcus
Imagine every click, every search, every post, not just tracked but weaponized against you. That’s not a dystopian Netflix pitch — it’s what authoritarian governments around the world are already doing. And now, we’re watching the U.S. quietly build the same machinery. Once those tools are in place, do you really think they’ll only be used to fight crime or catch terrorists? History says otherwise.
👑 Autocracy Normalized
Here’s the part that scares me the most: the normalization. What once shocked us barely even makes a ripple anymore. Trump praises strongmen abroad, undermines democratic norms at home, and his supporters eat it up like it’s just business as usual.
“This isn’t just bluster. It’s the quiet, systematic embedding of fascism into the machinery of government.” — The Guardian
Think about that. Every time an independent election official gets pushed out, every time a district gets gerrymandered beyond recognition, every time dissent is crushed under the label of “un-American,” it adds another brick in the wall. It’s slow, it’s methodical, and it’s easy to ignore — until the wall is finished and we’re on the wrong side of it.
🪖 Troops in the Streets
And then there’s the military piece. This week, we saw even more talk about deploying National Guard troops into American cities. Let’s be clear: this isn’t about keeping people safe. It’s about intimidation.
“Deployments like these erase the line between civilian life and military authority.” — Jonathan Freedland, The Guardian
It’s not random either. The targets are almost always liberal, majority-Black cities. This isn’t policing. It’s punishment. It’s about making sure people know who has the guns and the tanks — and who doesn’t. Authoritarian regimes always use the military to scare their own people into silence. And that’s exactly what’s happening here.
🎯 Chicago in Trump’s Crosshairs
Trump singled out Chicago again, calling it a “killing field” and announcing plans for a rapid-response National Guard force that could be deployed to cities at his discretion. Translation? Military rule by executive whim.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker fired back:
“This plan is unconstitutional and a blatant overreach of federal power.” — Gov. J.B. Pritzker
But the damage is already done. Once you normalize the idea that the president can drop troops into any city he doesn’t like, democracy starts looking a lot more like a dictatorship. Chicago isn’t the point — it’s the precedent.
✝️ Christian Nationalism Rising
And here’s the ideological fuel behind it all: Christian nationalism. This week, a podcast linked to the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches openly pushed for annexing Canada, criminalizing homosexuality, and replacing democracy with biblical law. Sounds extreme, right? But these voices are getting louder, not quieter.
“Christian nationalism is not about faith — it’s about power. It’s about using religion to control democracy itself.” — Katherine Stewart
This isn’t about Sunday sermons or personal belief. It’s about constructing a theocracy, one law at a time. If they succeed, it won’t matter whether you share their religion or not — their rules will be your reality.
🧩 The Pattern Is Clear
Put all of this together, and what do you see? Tech surveillance. Military intimidation. Autocracy normalized. Cities targeted. Religion weaponized. These aren’t five separate stories. They’re five fronts of the same battle. Fascism doesn’t land all at once — it builds itself step by step, until one day you look up and realize you’re already surrounded.
But here’s the thing: inevitability is a lie. The people in power want you to feel like resistance is useless. They want resignation. Because resignation is the soil fascism grows best in.
We can’t give them that. We still have tools — voting, organizing, protesting, striking, refusing to be silent. Every act of resistance chips away at the façade of inevitability.
🚨 What You Can Do Right Now
Call your representatives and demand they push back against unconstitutional deployments and surveillance laws.
Support watchdog groups like the ACLU, Protect Democracy, and local activist orgs fighting for civil liberties.
Show up — whether that’s in the streets, at town halls, or in your community. Visibility matters.
Talk to your people — friends, family, coworkers. Break through the normalization by reminding them this isn’t normal.
Vote, register others, and protect ballot access — authoritarianism feeds on apathy. Democracy only works if we use it.
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