AI Is A Gateway To The Welfare State
October 6, 2026 |
Keith Giles
There’s one thing that all Americans, regardless of our political leanings or religious affiliation, can agree on: fascism is bad. Unfortunately, we seem to have very different ideas about what it looks like. Thus, despite our unanimous outrage at the prospect of a fascist regime, we’ve somehow found ourselves tumbling head-first into it. While I once clung to hope for a new wave of tolerance and freedom, like many, I’m slowly settling into dark acceptance that things are going to get much worse before they get better.
Despite the nihilism, I can’t help but analyze our current circumstances through the lens of my personal and professional experiences. My personal history of religious trauma and career as a therapist specializing in recovery from religious abuse and cults have offered me plenty of perspectives on the dynamics of systemic abuse. Sadly, it would be impossible to ignore the glaring parallels between my upbringing, my work, and current American politics.
I recall learning about fascism in the Evangelical Christian homeschooling curriculum that comprised my early education. It taught that fascist governments, unlike America, were obsessed with controlling their citizen’s religious and political beliefs. To support their preferred narratives, they systematically altered history books, blocked websites, shut down independent news outlets, arrested whistleblowers, and criminalized unsanctioned religious beliefs. The fascist agenda is surprisingly simple: to create a monoculture where the state’s version of reality is the only reality.
While that description of fascism is spot on, the irony of those lessons is absolutely nauseating to me now. Clearly, the purpose was to underscore the superiority of American democracy: a system ostensibly destined to be immune to the pitfall of fascism. Today, however, the version of America we live in is beginning to resemble those fascist regimes more and more with each passing day. How did this happen to us?
The control exerted by a religious cult and an authoritarian political regime is functionally almost identical. While they may operate on different scales and use different language to describe their ideology, both of these controlling groups use the same manipulation tactics to exert power over the thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors of their followers. Whether it plays out in a small religious community or on a national scale, censorship is a fundamental tool of power and control. If you want to gain control over what people believe and do, you must first control what they know.
When a political or religious leader censors unwanted information, they’re not just silencing their critics, they’re intentionally manufacturing a self-serving reality. Any messaging that conflicts with their curated reality is discredited and abolished. For example, the US Department of Education has been instructed to implement new initiatives for “patriotic education”. By removing outside information and punishing those who contradict the group’s ideology, both religious groups and governments can design a closed system where the leader’s narrative is the one and only truth.
A central point of concern for many Americans is the current administration’s use of government power to influence the press and public discourse. Recent events, such as the temporary suspension of late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel, have drawn significant attention to this issue. Free speech advocates warn that this example of “jawboning”, where a government representative pressures a private entity to censor unfavorable speech, sets a very dangerous precedent.
These incidents are part of a much broader pattern of suppression, however. The administration’s demeaning rhetoric toward moderate and liberal-leaning reporters can only be described as bullying. The use of phrases like “enemy of the people” to describe news outlets demonstrates a clear effort to villainize specific sources. Countless journalists are raising alarm bells about the administration’s alleged efforts to silence, deny access, and retaliate against them. These actions signal attempts to use the government’s authority to circumvent constitutional protections of free speech by targeting individuals and organizations that express dissenting views.
The hostile rhetoric surrounding this issue is creating a dangerous environment, not just for journalists, but for all Americans. Private citizens are facing threats to their employment, privacy, and physical safety because of opinions they’ve expressed on political and social matters. These trends are quickly eroding the foundations of our democracy, destroying our former culture of open debate, and diminishing our access to uncensored information.
Another common tactic of past fascist world regimes is a blatant use of propaganda to rebrand and normalize their authoritarian policies. For example, increased militarism and police control might be framed as “strong” and necessary for “national security”, justifying policies that would otherwise be seen as a threat to democracy. Similarly, by accusing political rivals of being fascists, an authoritarian leader can frame himself as a protector of freedom.
These strategic manipulations can cloak authoritarian ideology in the familiar language of national pride, security, and traditional values. For example, a government’s efforts to suppress dissent might be justified as a means to “unite the country” against perceived internal and external threats. The citizens’ submission to a demanding regime might be framed as “patriotic” acts of loyalty to their country.
A perhaps even more insidious tactic is the fusion of religion to fascist regime’s political agenda. The inaccurate perception that fascism is antithetical to religious expression (an idea that many of us were explicitly taught) is effective at lulling religious citizens into a false sense of security. For many Americans, the belief, whether accurate or not, that their president is a Christian, is enough to assuage any fears of corruption or bad intentions. This kind of emotional manipulation bypasses our critical thinking, making it easier to accept policies that are directly undermining our freedoms–religious or otherwise.
Another key element in the rebranding of fascism is the deliberate manipulation of history. As a society, we rely on a shared understanding of the past to inform our present and future. When this history is rewritten, the public’s ability to recognize dangerous patterns is severely diminished. Leaders intent on consolidating power often do so by retelling history to portray themselves and their ideology as the rightful fulfillment of the nation’s destiny.
When a population loses its historical compass, it becomes more susceptible to a leader’s curated version of reality. This process of historical revisionism creates fertile ground for a new narrative where dissent is equated with disloyalty, and criticism of the government is framed as an attack on the nation or even God. The danger of this manipulation is that it not only obscures the truth, but it makes it nearly impossible for us to learn from past mistakes.
One thing we know for sure: whether by government order or religious edict, suppression is a sign of weakness, not strength. It’s a confession that our diversity of thought is a threat to the power structure. As citizens with little control over our government’s decisions beyond casting votes, we have precious few tools at our disposal. Our resistance to fascism hinges on our ability to see through its manipulation, think critically, and refuse to forget the true lessons of history. Calling out and tearing down fascism isn’t going to be easy, but maybe when we emerge from this dark time, we’ll have some new wisdom–and perhaps humility–to show for it.
