Jan. 6, 2021, defined as an attempted coup, was a violent disruption of a legitimate congressional function. It failed then, but the present dismantling of government offices, destroying their legitimate functions, jeopardizing the safety and welfare of Americans is a coup from within.

The question: what will follow this government seizure? There is a recognizable pattern: a distinct pathway from democracy to autocracy. It can be found in all failed democracies. Hungary, Brazil, Turkey and others didn’t invent the rule book, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini followed the same set of rules.

Today, directions are contained in Project 2025, a fascist manifesto for this century. It is an illuminating read, closely aligned with the machinations of the present administration.

The first step, people must be divided, a large number believing the country is under threat, a distinct enemy identified in immigrants, and a potential leader representing a powerful protector.

Secondly, the news media must be maligned, described as “the enemy of the people,” the “enemy within.” Both hackneyed terms have worked exceedingly well from 1933 to 2024.

Not with all people, but an impressive number (over 49% of citizens in this country) are believers or willfully ignorant. Their votes have conferred leadership to a man hungry for power and unimaginable wealth. He is an autocrat who would rule without challenge, he ignores democracy and the Constitution, his will is paramount and, like Russia’s Vladimir Putin, he aspires to a forever presidency.

The question — is democracy lost?

Patricia Fogg, Greene