'America’s collapse into autocracy': Here are 'helpful day-to-day' tips for surviving Trump’s second term

Salon's Chauncy DeVega does not mince words when writing about Donald Trump's second presidency, which the journalist often attacks as being even more overtly "authoritarian" than his first.

In an article published on February 28, DeVega "some helpful day-to-day suggestions for surviving America's collapse into autocracy and competitive authoritarianism — or perhaps something far worse." And he stresses that Americans will need to look after their physical and mental health as Trump's second term moves along.

DeVega notes that he was recently "reading about how people who live in authoritarian countries quickly learn to speak in code, obliquely, and who to trust, or not, during conversations at parties or when making small talk with strangers."

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"We aren't there yet in America," DeVega comments, "but we will be very soon…. At the time of this writing, Trump has only been president for 37 days. It feels much longer. If Trump serves his entire second term, he will be president for 1461 days. Trump is signaling, in violation of the Constitution, that he will seek a third term in office. This would make Trump ruler for the rest of his life. The Republicans in Congress have already indicated their enthusiastic support for a third Trump term."

DeVega continues, "In all, what Trump and his MAGA movement have already broken in terms of the country's democratic norms, institutions, traditions, and the American people’s expectations of normal, will take a very long time to fix. Moreover, it may be near-impossible to restore what has already been broken, if not destroyed. Unfortunately, too many Americans do not yet realize what they have lost."

DeVega's tips for surviving "Trump's shock and awe campaign and the type of trauma it is causing" range from "exercise" to "talk to strangers" to "find creative outlets for one's energy." The Salon journalist also recommends that Americans "disconnect from the experience machine of being constantly online, looking at some type of screen, and/or obsessively consuming news and other forms of digital and electronic media."

Other tips from DeVega include "read books" and "support independent news media and the arts and other creative workers."

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"None of this is normal," DeVega warns. "America is rapidly succumbing to a state of malignant normality and moral inversion. You are not suffering from 'Trump derangement syndrome' if you are feeling and know that something is very wrong and aberrant in America today — and in the years and decades that brought us to this horrible place."

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Chauncey DeVega's full article for Salon is available at this link.