As images circulate from the Los Angeles protests—showing young people waving the Mexican flag amid the chaos of federal raids and National Guard crackdowns—commentators on the right have seized the moment to accuse demonstrators of “hating America.” But these critics miss the mark entirely. In fact, the presence of the Mexican flag at these protests doesn’t signal a rejection of the United States—it signals an aspiration that America live up to its promise.

Since January, we’ve witnessed a sweeping reconfiguration of federal power under the resumed Trump administration. What’s happening is not chaotic or improvised—it’s a calculated strategy unfolding with discipline and coordination across the machinery of government.

The current administration has not only taken a chainsaw to critical agencies upon which the public depends for everything from clean water to retirement benefits, it has extended its destructive rampage to public sector unions.

The attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in government turning “woke” into a pejorative term are an attack on democracy. Authoritarianism depends on creating an “out group” that is treated as less than human, without rights and power.