In 2024, politicians and pundits speak of "American values" or an "American way of life," cherry-picking an idealized version of the American past that died a long time ago. Their vision represents the Eisenhower era of a prosperous, stable, and united America, a beacon to the world. Reality, however, is considerably more complex. The so-called "American way of life" started to come undone during Richard Nixon's presidency but was smashed beyond recognition by laws and policies passed over the past several decades.
In short, the slide into authoritarianism, surveillance, and political repression in America was already well on its way long before Trump arrived in office, from the Patriot Act to the NDAA and the AUMF. And even despite Biden's appeals for unity, such oppressive streaks of the state are, if anything, growing more frenzied in their targeting of already marginalized communities, activists, and dissenters.
The notion of 'American values' that people idealize in 2024 is little more than a retro fantasy. It's a selective view of history that conveniently overlooks the inconvenient truths. The America of the 1950s, often romanticized by conservatives and some liberals, was never as unified or virtuous as portrayed. The erosion of the values associated with a prosperous post-WWII nation began during the Nixon years. These cracks deepened under the guise of the War on Terror, and for the past two decades, America has responded to dissent with state-sanctioned oppression, surveillance, and an unyielding war against its citizens.
The Death of the Eisenhower Dream: Nixon and Beyond
America under Dwight D. Eisenhower was far from perfect, but it stood for something fundamentally different from the future political landscape. Ike was a political outsider who was thoroughly enmeshed in the military-industrial complex, and his vision of postwar America celebrated moderation and unity. The economy was booming, and many Americans subscribed to a romantic myth of upward mobility and opportunity. But it had already begun slipping through the cracks by the time Richard Nixon came along.
It is easy to remember Nixon's presidency through the corruption and scandal that was Watergate. Still, at the same time, his term set the stage for a political climate that would foster division and surveillance. The civil rights movements of the 1960s, anti-war protests, and any questioning of authority began to shake the consensual stability of postwar America. Nixon responded with the iron fist of law and order—the foundation for future governmental overreach.
The Patriot Act: The Lurch Towards Authoritarianism
The Patriot Act of 2001 was a grave change in the direction of America's relationship with civil liberties. The act was born of fear after the 9/11 attacks and massively expanded powers of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, including wide-ranging surveillance capabilities, detaining people without trials, and erosion of privacy rights. In the place of mere months, the Authoritarians rolled back many of the very freedoms held dear by Americans in the name of national security.
But this was no panicked reaction to tragedy. It was a conscious, deliberate reversal of the state's power. The Patriot Act institutionalized the surveillance state that had been growing for years, one no longer content to monitor foreign threats but intent on controlling and suppressing domestic dissent. But as it turned out, this act did not stop at foreign nationals or suspected terrorists; ordinary Americans, especially those critical of the government, became scapegoats. It was not an isolated incident because it formed part of an expanded breakdown of values that characterized America within the succeeding decades under Republican and Democratic regimes.
The NDAA and the AUMF: Wars at Home and Abroad
Among the legal instruments making this possible, the most important ones were the NDAA and the AUMF. The NDAA, as it was promulgated in 2011, provided for indefinite detention by the U.S. military against American citizens without due process of law under the Constitution. The AUMF, passed in the wake of 9/11, authorizing military force against anyone connected to the terrorist attacks, was so broadly written that it allowed the government to wage an endless war on terror with minimal oversight.
These laws erased the distinction between foreign and domestic threats, effectively enabling the U.S. government to treat anyone it labeled a "terrorist" as an enemy combatant, no matter their citizenship. The Bush and Obama administrations utilized these tools in the name of combatting foreign enemies against activists, whistleblowers, and other dissenters.
Obama's Brutal Suppression of Occupy: The Thin Line Between Dissent and Terrorism
Under Obama, the Occupy Wall Street movement—which aimed to shed light on economic injustice—was violently suppressed. Across the country, peaceful protesters were teargassed, beaten, and arrested—often in the name of public order. The response of the government to Occupy was a sobering reminder that mechanisms of state control were as brutal as ever despite promises of hope and change.
The Erosion of American Values: 2016-2024
The period from 2016 through to 2024 witnessed a frenetic shift in America from democratic values to one of authoritarian rule. Both Donald Trump and Joe Biden presided over an expanding surveillance system, the militarization of domestic policing, and the privatization of state power through mercenaries and private contractors.
Under Trump, this unquestionably amplified the powers of surveillance and repression for the state, powers frequently turned against dissenters, activists, and poor communities. The reliance on private armies, furthered by persons like Erik Prince, obscured lines even further between state and corporate power.
Biden had talked about unity, yet continued most of the policies, increasing surveillance, intelligence agencies' reach, and militarized police responses to protests and civil unrest. Privatization of domestic security and spying, involving technology companies and private contractors, further eroded privacy rights.
These developments-the creations of post-9/11 policies such as the Patriot Act and NDAA-formed a panoptic surveillance state viewing its own citizenry as a potential threat. So-called "American values" became a myth, an imaginary artifact of political discourses. A united, prosperous, democratic America of the 1950s has been surrogated by a regime of control, fear, and repression. In its place, the dream of a free and open society lies buried under layers of state-sanctioned surveillance, militarization, and private power.
The matter is not whether the U.S. can turn back to its democratic roots but whether it has already passed the point of no return.