Red, White, Bruised... But Still Ours

Amid fireworks and fear, America grapples with authoritarian drift; but our history reminds us: we've faced worse, fought back harder, and come out stronger.

Guest article by Michael Cohen

Today is the Fourth of July; America’s birthday. Fireworks crackle overhead, flags flap on front porches, and kids run around in red-white-and-blue t-shirts bought last-minute from Target. On the surface, it’s all very normal. Very patriotic. But beneath the sparklers and barbecue smoke lies a cold, hard truth: this year, Independence Day feels different. It feels heavier. Not because we’ve stopped loving this country, but because, for the first time in generations, many of us are unsure if the country still loves us back.

We’re six months into Donald Trump’s second presidency, and let’s just say the fireworks started long before July. From Day One, it’s been chaos on overdrive. Executive orders signed in bulk, agencies gutted, allies alienated, loyalty demanded—not to the Constitution, but to him. This isn’t speculation. It’s fact. I watched it happen the first time. I warned it would happen again. And now we’re all living it.

The Department of Justice has been transformed into his personal grievance machine. Journalists are under threat. Protesters branded “domestic enemies.” Political opponents are being audited, investigated, and—if he has his way—jailed. And the Supreme Court, now a monument to Trump’s judicial puppetry, delivered the final blow: a ruling that grants presidents near-total immunity for anything done under the banner of “official duties.”

Let me translate: If a president assassinates a rival, orders mass surveillance, or rounds up immigrants for indefinite detention—it’s all fair game. That’s not the law. That’s monarchy. Wrapped in robes and rationalized in footnotes.

And what’s already unfolding is even worse than we feared.
In Florida, there’s Alligator Alcatraz: a dystopian offshore detention facility surrounded by literal alligators, where migrants are caged like animals and paraded for the cameras of right-wing influencers. DeSantis called it “a model for immigration deterrence.” Trump called it “brilliant.” I call it state-sponsored cruelty masquerading as policy.

And it’s not just one facility. Trump’s Department of Homeland Security has unveiled blueprints for nationwide detention camps modeled after El Salvador’s mega-prison—a brutal concrete labyrinth where inmates are stripped, shackled, and stacked like inventory. That’s now the gold standard. That’s the blueprint. This isn’t policy; it’s punishment. It's meant to dehumanize, to intimidate, and to desensitize the rest of us.

Meanwhile, women across the country are losing rights faster than we can keep track. Missouri’s total abortion ban is still standing, thanks to the Supreme Court’s refusal to act. No exceptions. Not for rape. Not for incest. Not for life-threatening pregnancies. Add in the new federal proposal to criminalize those who help women travel for care, and we’re entering territory that feels less like America and more like The Handmaid’s Tale with a MAGA hat on.

And yet, despite the fear, the anger, and the creeping authoritarianism, I still believe in us.

Because this country has been in dark places before. We’ve seen it. We’ve felt it. Civil War. Jim Crow. Japanese internment. McCarthyism. WWI. WWII. Vietnam. Watergate. 9/11. The financial collapse of 2008. January 6th. These weren’t abstract moments; they were real crises, born of fear, power, and division. And every single time, the people of this country—imperfect, relentless, and loud—dragged us back from the edge.

That’s the part MAGA will never understand. You can silence one voice. You can rig a system. You can jail a protester, threaten a journalist, stack a court. But you can’t extinguish what makes America… America.

You can’t kill courage.
You can’t legislate away conscience.
You can’t jail the truth.

And so, while they try to bulldoze their way through democracy, Americans are still fighting back. Not with violence, but with vision. With organizing. With community. With a shared understanding that this country doesn’t belong to one man, one party, or one ideology. It belongs to us. All of us.

That’s what Independence Day should remind us.

It’s not about hollow flag-waving or performative patriotism. It’s not about a speech or a slogan or an overcooked hot dog. It’s about the promise of a nation that has always struggled, but always pushed forward. That stumbles, falls, breaks, bleeds, and still refuses to surrender to hate, fear, or tyranny.

So no, I’m not here to say “Happy Fourth” like everything’s fine. It’s not. But I am here to say this fight is not over. Because it never is.

The fight for freedom didn’t end in 1776; it began. And every generation since has had to renew that promise. Ours is no different.

This isn’t normal. But it’s not permanent.
We’ve overcome before.
We will overcome again.
That’s who we are.
That’s America.

Now light the fuse, become a part of this community, and let’s all get back to work.

Subscribe to Michael Cohen’s Substack by clicking here.

---

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!… NOW, WHERE ARE ALL THE NEW SUPPORTERS?
WE CAN’T DO THIS ALONE.

If you’re reading this, then you already know:
This isn’t just a newsletter. It’s a call to arms.

We’re not here to observe. We’re here to confront. To expose. To drag corruption out into the light and hold it accountable. But the truth? I can’t do this without you. Not anymore.

The fight ahead isn’t theoretical. It’s here. It’s now. And it’s relentless. We’re staring down the barrel of authoritarianism wrapped in a flag and selling freedom as a brand.

So let me ask you—Are you in?

Because this isn’t a passive read. This is a movement. And movements need muscle.

We need to build something so loud, so unshakable, that no one can twist it, spin it, or shut it down. That takes real support—not clicks, not likes. Commitment.

If you believe in truth, if you’re tired of watching the liars win, if you’re done shouting into the void, then it’s time to take the next step.

HERE’S HOW YOU RAISE YOUR VOICE:
• Become a paid subscriber… support real journalism with bite.
• Forward this to the people who never sit quietly.
• Bring your crew. Grow this community. Be the megaphone.

And yes, for the first 240 Founding Members, I’ll be sending a signed, numbered, limited-edition Substack version of my New York Times bestseller, Revenge. It’s not just a collector’s item. It’s proof you stood up when history came calling.

But this isn’t about a book.
It’s about defiance.
It’s about refusing to be gaslit.
It’s about locking arms and saying, “Not on our watch.”

You want to make a difference?
Then make it.
Right now.

Because if we don’t fight for truth—no one will.
And if we fight together? They’ll never drown us out.

Let’s be impossible to ignore.
Let’s be un-fucking-breakable.
Let’s go.