When Thomas Stearns Eliot (T.S. to his friends) said that it ends not with a bang, but a whimper, he might not have been talking about the United States under Donald Trump. And when astronomers talk about the Big Bang, they might not be talking only about the creation of the universe; they just think they are.

The United States government is shutting down tonight. Not for three days or three weeks. For much longer. It is not shutting down because Congress has a few difficult issues to iron out. It is shutting down because one party in Congress refuses to talk with the other. The party that refuses to talk with the other is refusing to do so at the specific direction of the President. The President wants to use the government shutdown to give him the opportunity to totally reshape the United States government. It looks like he may succeed.

When Richard Nixon resigned from office, Gerald Ford said, “Our long national nightmare is over.” If Donald Trump suddenly dies in office, it may be that no one will be able to say that. If Trump and his minions/handlers are able to make the changes they desire during a long Congressional impasse, our current, more serious national nightmare may become impossible to wake up from. Governmental functioning may by then be so out of kilter that the concept of status quo ante may remain only a concept.

Everyone seems surprised that no one is fighting back effectively, that so many are just falling in line with Trump’s stated wishes. Why is everyone surprised? This is what happens when a totalitarian leader takes control. Name me a country where the opposition has been able to turn back a charismatic would-be dictator. For those of us who believe(d) in American exceptionalism, guess what? We were fooling ourselves.

Dictators need many things. One is a compliant legislature. Trump seems to have that. Another is a powerful bureaucracy. The shutdown will give his bureaucracy the opportunity to strengthen itself massively. It needs a responsive military. We now have a military willingly marching into Chicago, Portland, Memphis, and Washington DC, a military willing to attack Venezuelan fishing boats and maybe soon Venezuela itself, and a military whose leaders from across the world who are today convening at Quantico to hear about the Newest World Order. It needs a rubber stamp Supreme Court.  We may now have that, as well.

There is more. Attacking political enemies who have no response. We now have a growing paramilitary organization (Code name: ICE) ready to bash people in the head and disappear or secrete them indefinitely and without charges. Or so it appears. We have a government ready to stamp on free press and free media. And a government that thinks it can dictate to much of the outside word to do its bidding, to play its game, or to find itself without any toys.

In the upcoming 2025 elections, I expect the Democrats to do well. But these are not federal elections, but by the time the 2026 midterms occur, the electoral map and electoral rules may have been so changed that the opposition party may not stand a chance.

Are we close to peace in Ukraine? No. Are we closer to peace in Gaza? Probably not. Is our economy on the upswing? No. Are we entering an era of less due process, and less economic equality? Yes. Is our rickety health system falling apart? Yes. Are people more fearful walking the streets? Yes. Are we moving closer to the world of Biff in Back to the Future? Absolutely.

Am I being overly dramatic? I guess time will tell. “May you live in interesting times.” A Chinese proverb, they say, to be wished on your enemies. Is there a God? Has He granted the Chinese their wish?

A voice calls out of the ether: Hey, Art, you better stop and move on with your day!!