Thoughts of a Native Son

8/27/25

In James Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time”, he warns of the fracturing and downfall of the United States. If the issues of racism and white supremacy are not taken seriously Baldwin forewarned the nation with, ” If we do not dare everything, the fulfillment of that prophecy recreated from the Bible in a song by a slave is upon us. God gave Noah the rainbow sign, no more water, the fire next time.”¹ I believe we are damn close to that prophecy.

The United Sates has a history of sweeping its unsavory characteristics under a rug to then create the illusion of a spotless historical moral record. As children we were taught myths and biased reasonings to cover up or justify horrible actions taken by our founders and government that have allowed the U.S. to accumulate the wealth and power we see and benefit from today. Suppression of certain unpalatable historical facts is an American tradition as old as apple pie and baseball. Every century there are those who will do anything to keep this tradition alive. At present here are some key figures that up hold the illusion of America as a “city upon a hill”: Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, Charlie Kirk, Dennis Prager, Ben Shapiro, and many other persons affiliated with the current Maga/ Republican regime. These men and women do two things that continue our down ward spiral to ruin. First, this Maga regime yearns for a mythologized past that never really existed. They look back to the 1920’s – 1960’s America when supposedly America was at her best and strongest. They look back to when men were men and women were women. They look back to where the social order was intact and less complicated compared to today. They look back at the palatable substances of history and deliberately ignore or justify the unpalatable evidence against this Country. Secondly and most importantly, the Maga regime minimizes as well as demonizes the struggles of minorities in this country today to keep the myth, the illusion alive. This schizophrenic belief system is what James Baldwin warned about. This fantasy of an America free from the muck and mire of history while continually practicing the transgressions of the past is what will be the down fall of our country. We are stuck in this swamp of self-satisfaction and without an actual self assessment of our history, systems, and ideologies we are doomed to drown in the transgressions we share with those who have come before.

9/11/25

As of yesterday, Charlie Kirk was assassinated at one of his public speaking events on the campus of Utah Valley University. Even though I feel bad for his children I cannot help the feeling of indifference at the loss of the man. My indifference comes from the way Charlie Kirk treated others not like him and how he profited off of the further division of this country. Kirk’s work was not to bring us all together but to separate us in order for his man (Trump) to take power. In order for that to happen the far-right needed to create distrust in our systems and scapegoats for the issues the U.S. has been facing. Charlie Kirk, Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, and many in the orbit of this cabinet were and are vehemently racist. Their own blatant and shameless racism has encouraged so many other people in America to adopt or show their true colors to the rest of the world. Charlie Kirk was a key figure head in this practice of politics. In stoking the flames of division, Kirk was burned by the very same aggression he sought to use. Even though he is no longer with us, I fear his messages and beliefs will not die with him. His assassin foolishly has made a martyr of Charlie Kirk and martyrs are dangerous. Their beliefs continue with them long after they have passed. So it is our duty to bring light to the truth of the person that was Charlie Kirk. Charlie had a large following and with his death he will gather far more to his cause. The American people are ignorant of their own history, sociological concepts, psychology, and moral philosophy. Most Americans’ views of the civil rights movements were brought to them by mainstream media and grade school social studies classes. A deeper understanding of the issues of racism, misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia in this country elude them. As the old saying goes, “In the land of the blind, a one eyed man is king.” Charlie Kirk was that said king, his own knowledge of the plight of black Americans, the LGBTQIA, and women were not well versed. He had nothing original to say; only parroted and old talking points that conservative America has been regurgitating from centuries past. I plan to counter act the lionizing that will come with Charlie Kirk’s assassination. This will be the introduction to a series of papers debunking and explaining Charlie Kirk’s, TPUSA’s and MAGA’s ideology. Hopefully on this journey we will see the refuse beneath America’s rug. We must dare all or that old prophecy may come to pass. There is work to be done.

Yours truly,

Nathan Douglas

1. Baldwin, J. (2017). James Baldwin: The Fire Next Time. Taschen.
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