I continue to struggle with why some Americans still support the current administration. Every policy – ill-conceived or not, reactionary or not – seems to share one consistent trait: cruelty. Mass immigrant roundups grow more unrestrained by the week. Subsidies for insurance are cut. SNAP benefits reduced. School lunches slashed. Food inspectors sidelined. Tariffs imposed with no clear strategy, punishing U.S. companies and consumers alike.
And yet, roughly a third of the country still supports this agenda, seemingly indifferent to the rights they’re surrendering or the precedents the current Supreme Court is discarding. Centuries of legal principle overturned, executive power expanded beyond recognition, and still a loyal bloc applauds.
Most Americans, I believe, simply want to live their lives – go to work, come home, spend time with family or friends. Day to day, we face the same challenges. But a vocal minority insists on blaming some shifting group of fellow citizens for their burdens, often after being worn down by relentless propaganda designed to demonize others for political gain.
Yes, almost everyone agrees illegal immigration is a problem. But how we respond exposes the real divide. Many seem to forget that most undocumented immigrants are fleeing persecution or poverty, seeking the same safe, productive life the rest of us want. The vast majority work hard, contribute, and live quietly. And the act of crossing the border illegally is a misdemeanor, not a felony. It does not justify people being snatched from courthouses, workplaces, or homes and shipped off to foreign prisons under the guise of “law enforcement.”
The people being targeted are rarely dangerous criminals. They are mothers, fathers, neighbors trying to support their families. Dangerous criminals – American or immigrant – should absolutely be arrested. But that isn’t what’s happening. Instead, masked men drag women off streets, doors are smashed down in the dead of night, and whole households are detained regardless of citizenship status. Easy targets, punished in the most theatrical and vindictive way possible.
This pattern extends beyond immigration. Nearly every major policy seems designed to spread fear, pain, or deprivation. Most haven’t yet fully reached the broader public. But they will. And by the time those cheering today feel the consequences themselves, it will be too late. History shows us: regimes built on fear and cruelty always turn inward.
Every new executive order, every new regulation, I evaluate by one test: Is it intentionally cruel or unintentionally cruel? Cruelty is no longer in question. Intent is all that remains.
Some argue both political parties are “the same,” both corrupt. But that’s a false equivalence, a convenient talking point. Look at the actual policies. Look at the outcomes. The cruelty factor is impossible to ignore.
When Medicaid benefits are cut, is it truly a funding necessity – or a deliberate choice to inflict harm? Seniors will be forced from nursing homes. Families will be left scrambling. There is no upside, only suffering. Why is the solution always to slash or abolish systems that protect the vulnerable, never to reform or expand them? Unless it’s tax breaks for the wealthy. Then suddenly, creative solutions abound.
So, I return to the question that haunts me: why does cruelty seem to be the point?
