The Shadow of Control: An Indianapolis Warning

The Fourth of July just passed, and like so many Americans, I witnessed the usual celebrations. But from my vantage point here in Indianapolis, in the heart of a state that couldn’t be any more red, those fireworks and parades felt profoundly incongruous with the realities unfolding around us. I saw the news from Texas—a horrifying, incomprehensible natural disaster claiming dozens of lives, including missing young girls from a beloved summer camp. And right here in my own city, I saw preventable tragedies unfolding: lives lost and families shattered not by floodwaters, but by gun violence, by conscious decisions to pull a trigger.

The thought struck me, as thought often does, how quick we are to accept certain kinds of loss as inevitable—nature’s fury, for instance—while struggling with the sheer senselessness of others. Yet, the anguish is universal. And as I processed these dual realities, a chilling clarity emerged: what I’m witnessing, both locally and nationally, is not just political maneuvering or unfortunate happenstance. I believe it is a calculated assassination of our freedom, driven by a relentless, insidious pursuit of control. And if I am right, we have a momentary window to stop it. This piece is my warning, born of direct observation and a deep, gnawing concern for what is happening right around us.

The Illusion of Order: Living within the City Limits of Control

I’ve come to understand that much of what drives our current political and social landscape, especially on the conspiratorial Right, is a fundamental human craving for control. When life feels chaotic, unpredictable—whether due to the terrifying rush of a flash flood or the senseless violence on our city streets—the human mind instinctively seeks order, explanations, and agents of control.

For many, this manifests as a rigid framework of external and internal discipline. Religion, for instance, becomes more than just faith; it’s a divine order, a clear moral compass, a set of unchanging rules to impose certainty on a bewildering world. Schools are seen as battlegrounds for control over the minds of our children, ensuring they are instilled with a specific, traditional worldview, safe from perceived corrupting agendas. Laws, too, are instruments of control—essential for maintaining social cohesion and compelling adherence to deeply held norms, though often selectively applied.

I saw a stark local example of this perceived loss of control recently, and it chilled me to the bone. After the horrific mass shooting in downtown Indianapolis that left two dead and multiple juveniles injured, our local Chief of Police, Chris Bailey, publicly expressed his raw frustration. He was “sick and tired” of the violence involving young teens. He largely blamed parents for the incident, saying, “I watched as parents just dropped the kids off and left. There’s no discipline.” For Chief Bailey, it was a breakdown of internal parental control—a fundamental collapse of discipline that then inevitably spilled into public chaos and lethal violence. His frustration resonates deeply with a worldview that sees a return to traditional, rigid forms of discipline as the only way to re-establish order. When this foundational, internal control is perceived to be lost, the stage is set for a desperate search for external explanations, or a yearning for much harsher forms of imposed order.

The Political Game of Control: Power, Purge, and the Pursuit of Dominance

It is into this vacuum of perceived lost control, this primal human need for order, that a chillingly effective political game is being played. I believe I am watching a cynical exploitation of these very fears. The architects of this game understand that fear of chaos, fear of “others,” fear of external threats—whether they be immigrants, changing social norms, or global institutions—can be wielded as a potent currency.

I see an unwavering pursuit of centralized power by the current administration. This isn’t just governance; it’s a strategic dismantling of checks and balances. I see Felonious Punk’s actions to sideline legislative oversight through the aggressive use of executive orders and his attempts to freeze trillions in federal funds appropriated by Congress. I hear his rhetoric attacking “rogue” judges, a clear effort to delegitimize any judicial body that dares to constrain executive whim. These are not merely political clashes; these are precise strikes against the very institutions designed to limit absolute power and ensure accountability.

Beyond rhetoric, I see the active politicization of expertise and public service. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is, from my vantage point, a blunt instrument in this pursuit of control. I’ve heard directly from those connected to Johns Hopkins—a university whose very mission is intellectual pursuit—how DOGE’s “wood chipper” cuts to USAID led to massive layoffs and a chilling effect on international research. I see the concerns about the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, where grant applications are reportedly being screened for “prohibited topics” like “gender,” stifling academic freedom and scientific inquiry. This isn’t efficiency; it’s a deliberate purge, a systematic weeding out of independent thought and expertise in favor of unquestioning loyalty. The goal, as Project 2025 explicitly outlines, is to strip job protections from tens of thousands of federal employees, replacing them with political loyalists to ensure the bureaucracy implements the president’s agenda without resistance. This is what you do when you want absolute control over the machinery of government.

I also observe the relentless attack on press freedom. The demonization of mainstream media as “enemies of the people” and the spread of government-sponsored disinformation are not accidental. They are calculated tactics to erode public trust, making it harder for citizens to access reliable information and easier for manipulated narratives to take root. Without an independent press, the public cannot hold power accountable, and without accountability, control becomes absolute.

And this quest for control extends even to the most personal levels. I see Elroy Muskrat’s ambition for his own “America Party”—a name, frankly, that confirms his profound disconnect from the subtleties of language, but whose purpose is chillingly clear: it’s a raw, unhinged pursuit of personal political control, even when existing party structures prove insufficient for his desires. What’s even more unsettling is the public signaling from Felonious Punk’s own family members – his sons overtly making overtures for political office after their father’s term, and the mention of Lara having “first right of refusal” on a Senate seat. This isn’t just politics as usual; this is the potential for dynastic control, a consolidation of power within a single family that further erodes democratic norms and centralizes influence beyond the electorate’s immediate grasp.

This brings me to the most profound concern, the chilling question I grapple with daily from my spot in the heartland: Is the GOP willing to risk fascism to retain control? When I look at the expert analyses we’ve discussed – scholars like Ruth Ben-Ghiat and Steven Levitsky – I see common threads. I see tactics echoing those of historical “strongmen”: the cultivation of a personality cult, hypernationalism, the suppression of dissent, attacks on independent institutions, the manipulation of electoral rules, and a chilling comfort with extra-legal means to achieve political ends. When I see attempts to delegitimize elections, the pardoning of those involved in the January 6th attack, and proposals to potentially misuse the Insurrection Act to deploy the military against domestic protests, I cannot help but ask: Is this not a terrifying gamble with the very essence of democratic freedom? Are we being played? Is the relentless pursuit of absolute control by some designed to manipulate the very system and populace into accepting their dominance, effectively assassinating our freedom from within?

A Momentary Window: My Call to Action

I am not an alarmist by nature, but I am a witness. And what I witness tells me the stakes are real. This isn’t an abstract academic debate or a distant political game; it is an “assassination of our freedom” that I see happening right around us—in the local news detailing preventable deaths, in the systematic weakening of our institutions, and in the highest echelons of government where the pursuit of control seems to know no bounds.

I also believe, however, that there is a momentary window for intervention. This critical juncture demands immediate recognition and decisive action from every citizen. I am standing here in Indianapolis, in the heart of a “red” state, and I am speaking out. Now, I challenge you to look beyond the manufactured outrage and the comforting narratives. Recognize the patterns of control. Understand the psychological game being played. It is time to reclaim our individual and collective agency.

I urge you to demand accountability from your representatives. Insist on the rule of law and the independence of our institutions. Reject the fear-mongering and demand truth in public discourse. Actively engage in protecting the democratic norms that define us. The preservation of our freedom depends not on any single leader, but on our collective willingness to step into this crucible, to push back against the forces of authoritarian control, and to ensure that the light of liberty does not dim on our watch. Our freedom is being assassinated, but its killer is not inevitable. It is in our hands to stop it.