Terrible Things Are Happening Outside – Again

 "Terrible things are happening outside. Families are torn apart. Men, Women, and Children are separated."

— Anne Frank, 1943, Nazi-occupied Amsterdam

Today, I watched a short video on YouTube showing the inhumane treatment of people on the streets in the United States—people discarded, ignored, and brutalized while the powerful look away. As someone who became an American citizen in the year 2000 and holds an American passport, it breaks my heart to witness the country I once believed in moving steadily toward fascism.

And I know from history: when authoritarianism takes over, not even citizens are safe—especially those who dare to speak out. People like me, who openly criticize Donald Trump and the authoritarian forces behind him, are always the first to be targeted. The writing is on the wall for anyone willing to look.

Anne Frank’s words, written in 1943, echo hauntingly in my mind. “Terrible things are happening outside.” The same could be said right now—in 2025—on the streets of the United States. The cruelty. The division. The silence of those who should speak. It’s all happening again, just wrapped in different flags, slogans, and technologies.

I remember Trump's inauguration last January. I watched in disbelief as billionaires like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg stood smiling. Their presence spoke volumes. Their wealth gave legitimacy to a man who was already showing signs of aspiring to authoritarian rule. I didn’t see Sam Altman—creator of ChatGPT—there, and for that, he has my respect. At least he didn’t show up to bless the decay.

In a blog I recently republished, I warned that authoritarian movements are rising globally, not just in Germany. This time, it’s worse. The tools of surveillance, misinformation, and digital control are far more powerful than they were in 1933. And if we don’t awaken to this reality now, we may not have another chance.

Those of us who remember—even secondhand, through the words of former victims like Anne Frank—must speak. We must not be silent. We must refuse to be numb.

The world has changed. The cruelty hasn't.

We must refuse to be numb.

“It is not true that evil, destructiveness, and perversion inevitably form part of human existence, no matter how often this is maintained. But it is true that we are daily producing more evil and, with it, an ocean of suffering for millions that is absolutely avoidable. When one day the ignorance arising from childhood repression is eliminated and humanity has awakened, an end can be put to the production of evil.”
— Alice Miller, Banished Knowledge, p. 143