Imagine This America -What Would You Do?

10,000 people held without trial. Secret prisons. Torture. Rape. And now for the scariest part of all...

Imagine this hypothetical scenario…

It’s 2027.

Habeas corpus has been suspended. The most fundamental right of any human being to not be imprisoned without evidence, without a charge, without a fair trial, has been stripped. Over 10,000 innocent people are crammed into prisons without any form of due process, left to languish indefinitely. No charges. No trials. No access to legal counsel. No calls home. Just darkness, fear, and iron bars. What would you do?

A carnival float in Germany mocks Donald Trump with the phrase “Make fascism great again” written on his hair.(Sascha Steinbach / Getty Images)

Imagine that reports begin to surface—grim, horrifying reports—of secret private prisons run by the government’s secret police. Inside these prisons, civilians are tortured, brutalized, raped. They are forced into confessions, silenced from speaking out. Many are children. Their bones are shattered. They’re sexually abused. They are locked in cages, denied medical care, and stripped from their families for no reason, with no warning, and no path back to safety. International human rights organizations blast the alarm bells but to no avail.

Meanwhile, soldiers—many of whom joined with ideals of justice and patriotism—are leaving in droves. They come forward with testimony. They describe night raids, secretive kidnappings, and abuses too disturbing to comprehend. But instead of being heralded for their bravery in exposing the truth, they are called unpatriotic, silenced, threatened.

And the Commander in Chief? While facing a mountain of credible corruption and fraud claims, he openly authorizes the violent removal of those he deems unworthy of human dignity. He compares them to animals and vermin, justifying their eradication as necessary for “national purity.” He signs off on forced removals, leading to the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people. Entire neighborhoods are razed to the ground, humanitarian aid is blocked, and starvation becomes a weapon of choice.

The UN condemns these actions—loudly, forcefully—but it can do nothing. This nation is a nuclear power. Its leader knows this. He taunts the world with it. And so the genocide continues, uninterrupted, paid for by complicit allies who turn a blind eye while quietly wiring billions to keep the slaughter going.

Now imagine this hypothetical scenario is real. Let’s Address This.

What If This Is Not Just A Hypothetical?

Imagine what I’ve described above is happening right now, before your very eyes. Would you tolerate it? Would you remain silent, justifying your apathy with political convenience or willful ignorance? Of course not. You would speak up, loudly. Maybe you think this is the warning of what fascism could look like in the United States if authoritarianism takes hold.

But here’s the part that may upset you if you haven’t already caught my drift—I’m not (just) talking about what could happen under Trump. I’m talking about what is happening right now in 2025 under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s regime, paid for by U.S. tax dollars. An the receipts are beyond mortifying.

These atrocities I’ve described are what Netanyahu is doing to at least 10,000 Palestinians held hostage right now as we speak—held hostage for decades prior to 10/7, and in both Gaza and the West Bank.¹ Palestinian children are suffering physical and sexual abuse at the hands of Israeli soldiers in Israeli prisons.² The Israeli soldiers leaving the military and speaking out against the abuse are ridiculed by the Israeli government.³ Palestinians are locked in secret Israeli prisons where they are beaten and raped by Israeli soldiers—all well documented by International and Israeli human rights organizations⁴ and well documented by Israeli media.⁵ Netanyahu and his allies refer to Palestinians as “human animals”⁶ and promise full eradication and removal of Palestinians while denying them the right to their own state.⁷ International human rights orgs blast the alarm bells about these atrocities, only to be ignored.⁸ All of this is happening with bipartisan support from both the Democratic and Republican administrations, as they continue to fund a fascist leader drowning in corruption.⁹ All of this is being paid for by your tax dollars, under the guise of security and stability.¹⁰ All of this is a reality that is tearing apart families, torturing children, and decimating communities with impunity.

And this matters, not just because it is unjust, but because this is the playbook Trump is bringing to the United States.

What This Means For The American People

If U.S. tax dollars can be used to fund genocide abroad, do you really think they can’t be used to deny your rights here in the United States?

Ask yourself why the Trump regime is openly talking about suspending habeas corpus? Stephen Miller has already declared this as part of Trump’s vision. They’ve already started denying due process. They’re already arresting judges, mayors, and American citizens with impunity. They are already detaining immigrants, stripping them of rights, and deporting them without trial or representation. How long before the dystopian fascism enforced by the Netanyahu regime against Palestinian civilians and children become policy that the Trump regime enforces against anyone who refuses to bend the knee to him?

Indeed, this is not about left vs. right; it’s about working people trying to get by vs. billionaire elites who fund fascism, oppression, and genocide for profit and power.

Yes, they have the money. But we are the many.

And thus the silver lining—most Americans understand this isn’t right. It’s why the Republican Party has only a 40% approval rating, and why the Democratic Party only has a 21% approval rating. Americans are sick and tired of being sick and tired. The urgency of the moment requires us to stop engaging in culture wars meant to divide us, and to channel our hurt and rage into action for justice.

We cannot tolerate Netanyahu’s fascism abroad. We cannot tolerate politicians who fund it and cheer it on. Because in doing so, what they are telling you, clearly and unambiguously, is that they will ultimately excuse Trump’s fascism right here at home.

Closing Thoughts

So, imagine this America. What would you do? Indeed, if you’ve ever wondered how you would have responded during history’s darkest moments, this is your answer. What you’re doing right now—how you speak up, how you act, how you raise your voice against this injustice—that is your legacy. That is your testament to whether or not you stood on the side of justice when it mattered most. As you consume media, ask if the person you trust is speaking up for universal justice, or for personal convenience? Are they condemning Trump while ignoring what Netanyahu is doing to Palestinian civilians, or do they recognize that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere? And if they are inconsistent in supporting universal human rights, are they truly deserving of your trust and support?

We must recognize that none of us are free until all of us are free. This is not hypothetical. This is real. This is now. And it is time to stand up and demand absolute justice, for Palestinians, for Americans, and for all people globally.

Because if we don’t fight this fascism over there, I promise you—it’s coming here next. And it has already begun.

1. https://bdsmovement.net/Israel-Holds-Over-10000-Palestinians-Captive-Act-Now-FreeThemAll

2. https://www.savethechildren.net/news/stripped-beaten-and-blindfolded-new-research-reveals-ongoing-violence-and-abuse-palestinian

3. https://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/

4. https://www.btselem.org/publications/202408_welcome_to_hell

5. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-01-16/ty-article-static/.premium/blood-covered-the-floor-fear-ran-like-electricity-through-my-body-i-knew-exactly-whats-coming/00000194-6044-d2ad-a19d-764d0f860000

6. https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2023/10/28317/israel-defense-minister-calls-palestinians-human-animals-amid-israeli-aggression/

7. https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-vows-no-palestinian-state-attacks-israeli-media-denies-blindsiding-gallant/

8. https://www.savethechildren.net/news/palestinian-children-israeli-military-detention-report-increasingly-violent-conditions

9. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/9/benjamin-netanyahus-corruption-trial-what-you-need-to-know?utm

10. https://www.state.gov/military-assistance-to-israel