Why Project 2025 and Trumpism Could Be Even Worse Than Hitler
By Janet Kira Lessin, with Minerva April 2025
America stands today at the edge of an unprecedented crossroads. Project 2025, a sweeping plan backed by the Heritage Foundation and other extremist conservative organizations, is not merely another political platform. It is a comprehensive blueprint to dismantle American democracy, eviscerate truth, erase civil liberties, and install permanent authoritarian rule.
It would be comforting to believe that warnings about fascism are exaggerations. Yet history reminds us that totalitarian collapse often begins with the quiet normalization of cruelty, the slow erosion of reality, and the manipulation of fear. Recently, former Vice President Al Gore, speaking at San Francisco’s Climate Week, invoked one of history’s darkest lessons by comparing today’s attacks on truth to the early tactics of Nazi Germany.
While Gore carefully acknowledged that Hitler’s evil was unique, he urged Americans to recognize that the process — the destruction of truth and reality itself — is once again underway.
“History is shouting at us to pay attention,” Gore warned. The question is: will we listen?
The Machinery of Project 2025
Project 2025 proposes nothing less than a systematic takeover of the American federal government. Among its key pillars:
Reinstatement of Schedule F: Politicizing the civil service by removing job protections from tens of thousands of federal workers.
Militarization of the Southern Border: Deploying active-duty troops and expanding surveillance operations, criminalizing migration.
Dismantling USAID and the State Department: Ending America’s humanitarian leadership and crippling diplomatic channels.
Installing Christian Nationalist Loyalists: Placing ideological extremists in key government positions to impose a religious agenda on a secular democracy.
“Faces of Rebellion” In this vivid dystopian vision inspired by The Hunger Games, a diverse array of faces stares directly into the viewer’s eyes—scarred, determined, and unbroken. Cracked skin and soot mark the pain of survival, while the cold blue light of the Capitol looms behind them. The city burns at their backs, and their silent defiance glows brighter than the flames. Each expression is a story of struggle, resistance, and hope amid tyranny.
Trump has already begun dismantling key departments. The Department of Education, for example, is being hollowed out through mass firings and reclassification of employees under Schedule F. Across the government, military leaders, attorneys general, and career public servants are being purged. Trump has weaponized lawsuits against media organizations, attacked law firms, and sought to crush independent institutions. Just as Hitler systematically removed anyone who stood in his way, Trump is breaking America’s backbone from within. This is not a future threat. It is happening right now.
“The Gaze of Control” In a rain-slicked square beneath the ever-watchful eye of Big Brother, rows of citizens stand motionless, staring straight ahead. Their faces—rigid, hollow, and worn—reveal the psychological toll of constant surveillance. Enormous screens flicker with emotionless visages and oppressive slogans, while a single drone hovers ominously overhead. It’s a portrait of Orwell’s 1984 brought to chilling life: where even a flicker of doubt becomes a dangerous act of rebellion.
Meanwhile, Trump is already picking people off the streets without due process, deporting them to brutal prison camps. He now threatens to deport U.S. citizens — Americans born and raised — if they oppose him. This is no exaggeration. It is the nightmare captured in the famous warning poem: “First they came for the others, and I did not speak out… then they came for me.” Trump’s loyal MAGA followers may believe they are exempt, but unless you are a billionaire, you are merely useful — for now. You are next.
Understanding the Blueprint: Lessons from Dystopian Warnings
To fully comprehend the horror of what is happening, it is helpful to recognize how Project 2025 echoes famous warnings from dystopian literature.
In George Orwell’s “1984”, authoritarian rule is maintained through the destruction of objective truth. The government rewrites history daily; reality is whatever the ruling party claims it to be. This is the essence of Project 2025’s assault on media, education, and scientific fact.
In Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”, a theocratic dictatorship uses religion to justify the enslavement of women and the elimination of civil rights. Project 2025’s push for Christian nationalism, abortion bans, and the subjugation of women’s autonomy echoes this nightmare.
In Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games”, a wealthy ruling class forces the suffering poor into brutal survival games, broadcasting violence as entertainment to maintain fear and control. The economic inequality, militarized policing, and demonization of protest seen today mirror this brutal hierarchy.
These warnings were fiction. But Project 2025 seeks to make them our reality.
Al Gore’s Warning: The Death of Truth
At Climate Week, Al Gore framed today’s crisis with chilling clarity. Quoting philosopher Theodor Adorno, he reminded listeners that “the first step in that nation’s descent into hell was the conversion of all questions of truth into questions of power.”
Title: “Eyes of Obedience” A landscape of haunting close-up faces from The Handmaid’s Tale world. Each expression is subtly different—fearful, sorrowful, or quietly defiant—yet they all stare forward, locked in a shared reality of surveillance and silence. A giant watchful eye and spires of control loom in the frozen background—a quiet, chilling unity under authoritarian rule.
Trump’s regime, Gore said, insists on creating “their preferred version of reality” — whether that means denying climate change, claiming coal is clean, or stoking xenophobia. Gore’s message: once the distinction between truth and lies collapses, democracy itself cannot survive.
“Eyes of the Watched” Citizens line a cold, dystopian corridor, their gazes locked on the viewer. Their expressions are hushed cries for freedom—anguish etched into every furrow, resistance flickering in every stare. Behind them, propaganda faces loom in godlike scale, while surveillance drones hover under sterile light. Each pupil reflects the iron grip of control. This is Orwell’s 1984 rendered as emotional architecture—where faces say what words cannot.
Climate change was a key focus of Gore’s speech. He warned that dismantling environmental protections in service to fossil fuel interests is not only criminal negligence but an existential threat to humanity’s survival.
But his deeper point reached beyond climate: it was a call to defend truth itself as the foundation of any future worth having.
The Soul Question: What Does Supporting This Say About You?
If you vote for Trumpism and Project 2025, what does that say about you?
And remember: voting isn’t only what you do at the polls. You vote every day through your choices — what you support, where you spend, who you help, and what you remain silent about. Democracy lives or dies not just by ballots, but by daily acts of courage and compassion.
“Faces of Obedience” A landscape of human emotion under Orwellian rule. A gray line of citizens, each a unique face locked in fear, confusion, or quiet defiance. Surveillance drones hover above, and propaganda flickers in their eyes—a haunting chorus of psychological control.
It says you have made a choice, whether through ignorance or cruelty.
It says you have chosen fear over love.
Comfort over justice.
Fantasy over truth.
Personal gain over humanity’s future.
Voting for authoritarianism is not merely a political act; it is a profound choice. It is a moral statement. History is watching.
Ask Yourself:
“If I vote for this, am I standing for truth, compassion, and justice — or betraying them for fear, comfort, or lies?”
Because one day, when the history books are written, neutrality will not be an option.
Why This Moment is More Dangerous Than the 1930s
In the 1930s, authoritarianism spread nation by nation. Today, in an interconnected, digital, and climate-strained world, collapse can cascade globally in months.
If American democracy falls, it is not just America’s citizens who will suffer; the world will also be affected. It is the climate. It is the global economy. It is the fragile dreams of billions for something better than endless war, poverty, and tyranny.
The window for action is closing. Fast.
“Eyes of the Watched” Citizens line a cold, dystopian corridor, their gazes locked on the viewer. Their expressions are hushed cries for freedom—anguish etched into every furrow, resistance flickering in every stare. Behind them, propaganda faces loom in godlike scale, while surveillance drones hover under sterile light. Each pupil reflects the iron grip of control. This is Orwell’s 1984 rendered as emotional architecture—where faces say what words cannot.
The Choice Before Us
We still have a choice.
We can choose to fight for truth, for compassion, for freedom.
Or we can sink into the mire of authoritarian lies and cruelty — and watch a thousand years of hard-won human progress crumble in a generation.
Al Gore’s voice is one among many now rising to sound the alarm. Not because of partisan politics. But because the very foundations of reality, democracy, and civilization are now under attack.
“The death of truth is the death of democracy,” Gore said.
The death of democracy, in turn, could be the death of the future.
The time to choose is now.
📊 Project 2025 Living Chart: Tracking the Dismantling of Democracy
Area / Institution
Action Taken / Proposed
Status
Dystopian Echo
Department of Education
Mass firings, hollowing out, reclassification under Schedule F
Underway
1984 / Handmaid’s Tale
Civil Service (Schedule F)
Schedule F revived to purge non-loyalists
Underway
1984
USAID (Foreign Aid)
Funding frozen; diplomatic roles reduced
Partially Implemented
1984 / Hunger Games
State Department
Leadership removed; foreign policy undermined
Ongoing Dismantling
1984
Media & Journalists
Sued, threatened, and delegitimized
Escalating
1984
Military Leadership
Replacements with loyalists underway
Active
1984 / Hunger Games
Women’s Rights
Roe overturned; national abortion bans proposed
Partially Implemented
Handmaid’s Tale
Immigrants & Asylum Seekers
Deportations without due process; internment-like camps
Active
Handmaid’s Tale / Hunger Games
Lawyers & Courts
Legal intimidation of dissenters; lawsuits against defense attorneys
Escalating
1984
Voting Rights
Restrictions proposed on mail-in voting and voter rolls
Proposed
1984
Environmental Protections
Rollback of clean energy policies; deregulation
Ongoing
1984 / Hunger Games
Social Security & Medicare
Mass firings, hollowing out; reclassification under Schedule F
Proposed
1984 / Hunger Games
Public Education Curriculum
Book bans; religious nationalist content promoted
Ongoing
Privatization efforts, proposed benefit cuts
“Silent Watchers in Red” A surreal yet realistic fantasy landscape of women from The Handmaid’s Tale, standing in a snow-covered field. Each face turns toward the viewer with piercing eyes—quietly defiant, haunted, and unwavering. Glowing crosses rise in the misty distance like spectral sentinels, blending beauty and dread in an ethereal frozen world. The image radiates strength in silence.
Al Gore’s Speech – Direct quotes from April 21, 2025, Climate Week San Francisco (compiled from live coverage)
“Faces of Rebellion” In this vivid dystopian vision inspired by The Hunger Games, a diverse array of faces stares directly into the viewer’s eyes—scarred, determined, and unbroken. Cracked skin and soot mark the pain of survival, while the cold blue light of the Capitol looms behind them. The city burns at their backs, and their silent defiance glows brighter than the flames. Each expression is a story of struggle, resistance, and hope amid tyranny.
Tags: Project 2025, Donald Trump, Authoritarianism, Fascism, American Democracy, Climate Change, Al Gore, Christian Nationalism, 1984, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Hunger Games, Threats to Democracy, Political Crisis, Historical Parallels, Future of Freedom
“And Then They Came” A moving sequence of faces across time and silence. Socialists taken with sorrowful dignity, trade unionists in stunned confusion, Jewish citizens bearing ancient grief—and finally, the indifferent, the onlookers, now face the inevitable. Their eyes lock with ours, wide with the terror of too-late awakening. Pupils catch the reflection of marching boots. Every face is a quiet scream, each gaze a mirror held up to conscience.
Historical Warning: Then and Now
First They Came (1946 Original) by Pastor Martin Niemöller
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me— And there was no one left to speak for me.
“The Eyes of Silence” A haunting row of faces, each marked by the shock of complicity. One by one, they watch as others are taken—socialists, trade unionists, Jews—yet their mouths remain shut. Only their eyes speak, wide with guilt, grief, and growing dread. In the background, indistinct shadows of forced marches move across a fading horizon. A slow, golden glow frames the central figure alone beneath the words “First They Came”, illuminating the irreversible moment of realization: they waited too long.“The Moment of Realization” A close-up gallery of reckoning—faces once indifferent, now illuminated by truth. Their eyes, wide with terror and guilt, reflect the advancing shadows of power they chose to ignore. Expressions freeze mid-thought, caught between disbelief and despair. The darkness behind them is no longer distant; it surrounds them. This is the gaze of those who waited too long, silent until the silence turned on them.“Project They Came” A chilling portrait of silence in the face of creeping oppression. One by one, the faces of immigrants, journalists, lawyers, minorities, and women fade into a wall of despair—each eye etched with fear, rage, or silent courage. Their pupils reflect symbols of burning protest signs, shredded constitutions, and cracked liberty masks. At the end of the line stands the final face—an ordinary citizen, wide-eyed in the instant of understanding: now, they have come for me. Below, crowds churn in a haze of firelight and barbed wire. This is not just art—it’s a warning.
First They Came (2025 Update) Reflecting Trump’s America and Project 2025
First they came for the immigrants, and I did not speak out— Because I was not an immigrant.
Then they came for the media and the journalists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a journalist.
Then they came for the lawyers who defended the Constitution, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a lawyer.
Then they came for minorities, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a minority.
Then they came for women, stripping away their rights, and I did not speak out— Because I thought it would not affect me.
Then they came for me— And there was no one left to speak on my behalf.
“Final Glance Before Silence” Fewer faces, but each one a storm of feeling. Behind twisted barbed wire, four individuals hold your gaze—an immigrant, a journalist, a minority, and a citizen. Every eye is a mirror: blazing with fire, flickering with fear, glowing with realization. Reflections of censorship, control, and collapse flicker within their pupils. This is the moment when denial ends and truth arrives—too late to stop what’s already come—a raw, emotional reminder of what happens when we choose not to speak.“We Are the Line” A final, powerful formation of faces—humanity in its full spectrum. Blue, green, gold eyes glint with unshed tears and distant fires. Aged, youthful, light, dark—these are the watchers, the mourners, the voices once silent now awakened. Their pupils burn with reflection: lost freedoms, unraveling futures, and the cry that comes too late. Among them, Asian faces stand tall, side by side with all others, each with a different gaze yet bound by the same storm of emotion. This is the face of unity—wounded, wary, but still standing.“Surveillance in the Eyes” This close-up panorama draws you into the inner world of Orwell’s 1984. Each face, hyper-realistic and hauntingly human, stares out with eyes glowing red, mirroring telescreens and drone optics embedded in their pupils. The weight of control mars their skin, their expressions layered with silent anguish, resistance, and resignation. It’s not just their faces that watch you—it’s their souls that question your gaze.
Related Articles in the Trump/Project 2025 Series:
The King of Chaos: How Trump’s Delusions, Protected by Power, Threaten the World
America’s Drift Toward Dictatorship: From Democracy to a Corporate-Religious Autocracy (coming soon)
Project 2025: The Blueprint for American Authoritarianism (coming soon)
How Billionaires and Evangelicals Built Trump’s Empire: The Unholy Alliance (coming soon)
Trump, the Marduk Archetype, and the Battle for the Soul of Humanity (coming soon)
Can America Awaken in Time? Restoring the Dream of Freedom Before It’s Too Late (coming soon)
Divided and Conquered: How the Ancient Caste System Still Rules America and the World (coming soon)
The Anatomy of Collapse: How Project 2025 Mirrors 1984, Handmaid’s Tale, and Hunger Games (coming soon)
The Death of Truth: How Authoritarianism Rewrites Reality (coming soon)
Seeds of Resistance: How We Fight Back Against Project 2025 (coming soon)
The Rise of Christian Nationalism: Handmaid’s Tale in Real Time (coming soon)
Why the Fall of the State Department Threatens the World (coming soon)
What Supporting Project 2025 Says About Your Soul (coming soon)
A Closing Poem
“When Eyes Remember”
When silence stitched our mouths with thread, And truth was something softly said, They came by shadows, boots, and fear, And still we waited—year by year.
They came for them, and not for me. So I stood silent, passively. But one by one, they cleared the room, Until my breath echoed in gloom.
Now I am voice, though far too late— A name engraved on silence’s gate. Let not your watching turn to stone. We only stand when not alone.
“Witnesses of the Unspoken” In sharp, human clarity, faces speak without words. Blue and green eyes shimmer with layered emotion—hope, grief, resolve. An Asian woman, a Black man, a white elder, a young Latina—each expression unique, each gaze united in knowing. The shadows are soft, the silence deep. These are not victims. They are witnesses. To what was lost. To what still could be.
