It’s another day in Trump Wonderland. Up is down. Right is wrong. Lies are reality.
In this Wonderland, gutting the Voting Rights Act is protecting the Constitution. Resisting unlawful armed occupation in the streets where our children play is seen as violently opposing the government. And standing up in any way to a barrage of assaults on rights we consider part of our democracy is criticized for being unpatriotic.
This plays out daily now, and it seems almost normal as we continue to go to work, play with our children and walk our dogs. But we know better. It’s important now more than ever to remind ourselves what is real and what is deception. We must do this daily and be vigilant about it.
This circus of distraction — the latest including provoking long international allies like Canada and taking a sledgehammer to the White House without any accountability — plays out daily on our TV sets, headphones and cellphones. One of the most alarming threats from President Donald Trump and his allies is taking place in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Recently, the Supreme Court heard a case considering the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act. It’s another case where the American public is asked to be confused about what many of us have long viewed as a cherished protection. The court is considering the intentions of the Constitution’s 14th and 15th Amendments, which were written to protect Black citizens after the Civil War. A group of white voters in Louisiana has challenged a remap that would increase the number of Black-majority districts, claiming that it amounts to race discrimination.
If the Supreme Court votes in their favor, this could result in having only one district in the state where Blacks are in the majority. Although Blacks make up a third of the population, this would reduce their chances of forming coalitions with allies to advance causes important to their families and communities. In summary, we are likely witnessing a stake being driven into the heart of the Voting Rights Act.
At the same time, more than 4 million Americans are at risk of losing their health coverage if Affordable Care Act tax credits are not renewed. This, of course, is at the heart of the current government shutdown. If no compromise is reached, it could have dire consequences, ranging from Americans going without medication or having to forgo preventive or lifesaving treatment. Much more than government melodrama, lives are at risk.
Closer to home for many of us is the Trump administration’s recent invasion of the city and its surroundings using armed violence to bully and intimidate us into submission under the guise of protecting the country’s borders. It’s mostly Brown and Black communities in the city and suburbs that find themselves under attack.
Already, one man — Silverio Villegas González, a 38-year–old father from Michoacán, Mexico, was fatally shot while reportedly fleeing U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement officers in Franklin Park. Although the two federal officers initially described one their injuries from the pursuit as “nothing major,” the Department of Homeland Security said the agent was “seriously injured,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Gov. JB Pritzker, who finds his state under siege by Trump’s “Operation Midway Blitz” has called for a “full factual accounting” of the Franklin Park incident. He has also established an accountability commission to make recommendations and report on the actions of federal agents throughout the Chicago area.
These are just a few examples of what is playing out before us daily, but we can’t just accept them as another segment on the nightly news. This may mean talking to a neighbor, attending a protest or calling your congressional representative. If we fall into the trap of accepting assaults on our freedom as routine, soon up will be down, right will be wrong and the lies we are hearing daily will be our new reality. We can’t afford to let that happen.
Curtis Lawrence is a longtime Chicago journalist who retired as the senior investigative editor for Block Club Chicago in 2024.