by Donald Martell

Everyone who showed up to the No Kings protests on October 18, 2025, realizes that on some level there is something very wrong with where this country is headed and how it is operating right now. But I want to emphasize that while something IS deeply wrong with this country, this cannot come as a surprise. Political, social, and economic repression have always been a part of the social fabric of this country. We are a nation founded on the removal and genocide of Native Americans, governed by laws written by men who kept slaves while hypocritically boasting the creation of a state where “All men are created equal.”

What we are seeing today—political opponents being unfairly targeted, talk of rigging the 2026 and 2028 elections, our Black and brown neighbors being snatched up off the streets by masked thugs regardless of their immigration status, and a GENOCIDE happening in Gaza—all of it is connected. That is what our “democracy” has delivered us. It’s time we all wake up and realize this country has never been a true democracy and has always been a country by the rich and for the rich. This is why I declare myself a democratic socialist. I believe in everyone having a voice and being lifted up so they can use that voice, and I believe in every single human’s right to healthcare, housing, education, food, water, and democracy both in and out of the workplace.