*Editor’s Note: Elephant Journal articles represent the personal views of the authors, and can not possibly reflect Elephant Journal as a whole. Disagree with an Op-Ed or opinion? We’re happy to share your experience here.

“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” ~ Rumi

I’m not writing this article as a political historian or a scholar.

I’m writing it as a human being in pain. Emotional, spiritual, and moral. I’m someone who still believes in the power of love, in the innate goodness inside most people, and in the sacred right of every soul to be seen, to be heard, and to belong.

However, I’ve changed since the 2024 Presidential election. I do my best to find and feel moments of joy, light, and inner peace, but at the same time, there is also a spiritual ache and a looming dread that follows me into my simplest of moments.

In my sleepless nights and restless days, I’ve been asking myself:

Why is this happening again in history? Why the rise in fascism? Why the indifference—and worse—the celebration of it?

I’m not here to offer academic answers. I’m writing as a hurting soul who’s paying close attention, and this is what I’m beginning to realize…

“You cannot heal what you do not first acknowledge.” ~ Richard Rohr

Fascism often disguises itself in words like strength, order, and tradition, but underneath that mask, it feeds on fear, disconnection, division, numbness, and our deep human reluctance to look pain in the eye.

As I toss and turn in my sleep, reflect, write in my journal, sing, write, life coach, and take healing walks in nature, I’ve been asking myself …

What if, as painful as it is, fascism is not only a political force, but also our spiritual teacher?

Not a gentle one. Not a wise one. Not an invited one. But like a shadow in the mirror, it is reflecting back to us everything we’ve refused to see in ourselves and in our society.

It creeps in through policies that appear protective but quietly erase human rights. It comforts the fearful, isolates the vulnerable, and grows stronger every time we turn away.

Drip by drip, cruelty becomes normalized, hierarchy is glorified, and human dignity is chipped away. And in that unraveling, something else is revealed. It’s an invitation to ask ourselves:

>> What does it mean to be human?

>> What does it mean to be free?

>> What is truly worth protecting?

Fascism demands uniformity, punishes differences, and scoffs at empathy. It rewards obedience, and thrives when we mistake authoritarianism for strength, and passivity for peace.

But the human spirit doesn’t die quietly. It may go underground, grow weary, even go silent for a time, but deep within every quiet heart lives a fire that cannot be fully extinguished.

What the Shadow of Fascism is Teaching Us

I never wanted this teacher, but the lessons are here, whether we accept them or not.

Fascism, this terrifying shadow, reveals:

>> Where we are still unhealed.

>> Where we have grown numb, complicit, or overly comfortable.

>> How easily comfort can become a danger zone.

The lesson? Real peace requires active participation.

The lesson? Silence is a decision and when we witness injustice and say nothing, we side with the machinery of harm.

The lesson? The potential for cruelty and compassion lives inside all of us. Only by facing our inner shadows can we hope to transform the ones in the world.

The most important lesson? When we become the peace, the kindness, the empathy, and the love we long to see, transformation is not only possible, but also inevitable.

This is spiritual work—not because it happens in temples or churches—but because it happens in our hearts. It happens:

>> When we tend to the vulnerable instead of scapegoating them.

>> When we speak the truth, even with trembling voices.

>> When we stay awake and mindful, even when numbness tempts us to check out.

>> When we choose love as a defiant act. Not a passive one.

Fascism wants to reshape our world. It wants to tell you who matters and who doesn’t. It wants to train you to forget. But what it cannot do—no matter how loud or violent—is erase the sacred core of who we are.

>> Our tenderness is a rebellion.

>> Our hope is resistance.

>> Our memory is a radical act of courage.

Every time we refuse to dehumanize…

Every time we defend differences, dignity, and truth…

Every time we reach for compassion instead of control…

We are undoing the story fascism wants to write.

Fascism is a shadow teacher because its presence calls forth our deeper and higher self. Our bravery, our conscience, our sacred rage, and our stubborn love.

This is not just a political moment. It is a soul moment. A spiritual one. Let this moment change us. It is offering all of us a sacred opportunity:

>> To rise in healing both individually and collectively.

>> To meet the shadow of our fear without becoming it.

>> To carry the light without burning out.

>> To create a world in which dignity is not optional.

Let’s be bolder, kinder, and more loving than ever before. Let’s reach across the divide and listen—really listen—to those whose beliefs feel hard to understand. Let’s meet on shared ground, not just in ideas, but in simple human connection.

Maybe it begins not with a debate, but with a story. A walk. A shared song. Even a scoop of ice cream. Something sweet. Something human. Something that opens a door. And in those small cracks of connection, trust begins again.

Every time we choose empathy over indifference…
Speak up instead of shutting down…
Extend care instead of collapsing into despair…

We help the soul of democracy breathe again.

If your heart is tired and your faith shaken, you are not alone. I’m right here with you. And still, I believe in We the People rising with fierce love and sacred courage.

I will not abandon what is still breathing. I will not let despair win. Please don’t give up either. Hold the light of hope with me.

“Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.” ~ Elie Wiesel

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