How does it end?

I listen to the repeat of John Fugelsang's show as I drive to work in the morning. He does a segment called "Enhanced Interrogation" and always asks "How does this end?" I listen to Dean Obeidalla at night, and he always says "I can't predict what's next because I'm not a sociopath or a psychopath."

I am a psychopath. And I know how it ends.

1) The impeachment passes the House. The Senate either refuses to convict or refuses to hold the trial at all.

2) That man gets a second term, whether though Russian/Ukrainian interference, gerrymandering, general fraud or all the above.

3) Having declared Jews a Nationality as well as a Religion, he begins encouraging moves to Israel. Soon these become less encouraged and more compelled.
3a) Birthright citizenship is abolished.

4) He expands the concentration camp system. ICE gets less careful about making sure the people interned are not US citizens. When American citizens bring suit, Hispanic and Latin@ people will be declared automatically illegal aliens. More deaths. A major illness gets a foothold among the population and massive numbers of deaths occur. The bodies are buried in a mass grave, or cremated. The world is outraged.

5) The UN human rights commission and ACLU and major news outlets demand to see the camps. Observers are invited to do so, and promptly interned. Reporters are declared enemies of the state, of the people and of the world. Killing them is encouraged, jailing them is mandatory. When the UN logs a formal protest, it is evicted from New York City and the US unilaterally withdraws (via executive order, of course)

6) ALEC gets enough support for that constitutional convention. They only need 6 more states. With this group in charge, all changes will be made to benefit corporations and the rich. They'll start with a balanced budget amendment, and this will mandate cutting all social and benefit programs, in fact, everything but the military, to achieve.They may remove the very outdated 3rd Amendment (quartering soldiers), and use that as a springboard for others. The 13th, 15th and 19th are going to come under special fire.

They absolutely repeal the 22nd. The first is deeply abridged.

7) The 2024 election is rigged even harder than the 2020. Trump is either completely gone mentally or has died in office and been rigged up as an audioanimatronic. (h/t Norman Spinrad's "World War Last") Should this not be the case, he will have passed the presidency to either Don Jr. or Jared.

8) We have elections every 4 years, but the votes aren't actually counted and there is forever a Trump in the White House. Until they move it back to Trump Tower because Washington DC is a declasse address.

9) Under Mike Pence, the Evangelicals get their way in every particular. When Roe, followed by Griswold, is overturned, some of them lose their fervor and close their pocketbooks, so the next great enemy is created. As Roe was used to take the place of segregation, so they will use racial issues to take the place of Roe. America is a White Christian Country, and by their White Jesus, they're going to make it one.

Non-Christians are encouraged to convert. Soon encouraged becomes required. Places of worship are closed, meetings are banned, businesses are boycotted and sometimes targeted for violence. It starts with Jews, Muslims and Hindus, soon expanding to Sikhs, Buddists and pagans. Some white atheists begin quietly passing for Christian, as do some white non-Christians.  Some manage to out-migrate.

Modesty culture becomes mandatory and sumptuary laws are seen again for the first time in centuries. Women begin to be shut out of some jobs, and then more and more.

The QUILTBAG is forced back into the closet, legislated against and tracked. Rumors of re-education/concentration camps abound.

10) As we have run out of Hispanic and Latin@ people, African Americans are declared African, not American. Under the 13th amendment alterations and destruction of birthright citizenship, they are illegal aliens and can either be interned or re-enslaved. Or deported. Those who can still afford it, escape to Mexico, Brazil and Canada. Some join the African Deportation, sponsoring their own ships, and planes, with captains guaranteed not to dump the passengers in the ocean.

Through it all, we keep cozying up to Russia. More and more Russian words begin to show up in everyday use, beginning with Fox News and carrying over to politicians. By 2032, it almost sounds as if we're speaking Nadsat.
We remain entangled in eternal wars around the world.

As rest of the world tries to move forward, we maintain our stubborn retreat. As the oceans rise, our scientists are banned from talking about climate change. People who can get out start trying, but soon the borders close.
The economy continues to be lopsided, many many low wage workers, a few very wealthy at the top. No middle class. Some people still identify as such and try to maintain the mid-20th centuries values from their grandparents and parents, but most do not. Corporations make the laws, alter the tax code to their benefits and nearly own the people outright. The Company Town makes an appearance, possibly in its shiny, futuristic disguise of an arcology.


How does it end? This nasty retreat into corporate feudalism?
I'm not sure it does. But this is where I see things going right now, barring some cataclysmic event.