Once upon a time, America was a democracy. Then a bunch of religious extremists got their hands on the levers of power, and now we’re stuck watching a real-life Handmaid’s Tale unfold in front of our eyes. How did we get here? Simple: decades of planning, manipulation, and a political movement that saw democracy as an obstacle rather than a principle.

The Long Game of Christian Nationalism

The religious right didn’t just appear overnight like a plague of locusts. It spent decades quietly infiltrating every branch of government, from the courts to Congress, all under the banner of “family values” (translated as control, oppression, and a nostalgic longing for the 1600s). Organisations like the Federalist Society groomed judges, evangelical megachurches pumped out loyal foot soldiers, and think tanks spun biblical law into policy. The goal? A nation where church and state aren’t just married—they’re in an abusive relationship.

Populism, Fear, and the Almighty Dollar

Nothing fuels a movement quite like fear. “The gays are coming for your kids!” “Abortions are being handed out like Halloween sweeties!” “Your Christmas is under attack!” The religious right mastered the art of turning moral panic into political power. And when an opportunistic strongman came along promising to defend their “way of life” (ie a white, straight, Christian, domineering nutcase), they anointed him as their flawed-but-divinely-chosen one.

Meanwhile, right-wing media built a parallel reality where critical thinking was the devil’s work and questioning authority was practically heresy. Conspiracy theories became gospel, and suddenly, a large portion of the country was convinced that democracy itself was satanic.

What Now?

Undoing this mess isn’t going to be easy. The courts are packed with nutters, the laws are rigged by nutters, and the true believers in these nutters are dug in deep. The centre left spent too long assuming this was just a silly phase, while the right was busy chiseling their version of America into stone tablets. Now, we’re watching the consequences unfold in real time. Democrats have to shoulder some responsibility for putting up a confused corpse as the answer to American woes.

If you’re not terrified yet, you should be. Because when religious extremists get into power, history shows they don’t give it up without a fight. This is going to turn really ugly and if I was American, I would do what tens of thousands of them are already planning.

That being getting the fuck out of there before the borders shut.