Help save democracy with this one weird trick

Sadly, this Fourth of July holiday could be the last one that means anything—unless your idea of freedom involves flag-humping jingoism, the white-hot hatred of immigrants, and singing perpetual hosannas to an unaccountable criminal strongman with the gimlet-eyed wisdom of olive loaf.

Donald Trump has telegraphed his authoritarian intentions over and over again, and his plans are truly frightening.

We’ve all seen the gruesome litany: Project 2025, Trump’s ghastly Time magazine interview, his near-promise to persecute his political enemies—including, perhaps, having a former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff executed. Then there’s the whole fawning-over-murderous-dictators shtick—including his reported assertion that “Hitler did some good things.” (Which is a little like going to a weekend barbecue and telling everyone they need to try Jeffrey Dahmer’s proprietary dry rub. No, really, it’s a lot better than you’d think! He did some good things, cayenne-wise and from the standpoint of paprika.)

So with all that in mind, it’s no wonder so many of us have found ourselves in a semi-permanent fight-or-flight mode over the past eight-plus years—and particularly during the last several months. I know I have. And I also know how enervating the constant worry-and-rage cycle can be. It’s exhausting. I’m exhausted. And I assume many of you are, too.