I Am Certain of Nothing But the Holiness of the Heart's Affection and the Truth of the Imagination~John Keats/Letters 1817

Fighting Fascism Through Poetic Imagination

What can an English Romantic poet who lived over 200 years ago teach us in this moment? John Keats had a turbulent childhood and lost both of his parents by the time he was fourteen. His grandmother and guardians guided him through the rest of his schooling and under their encouragement he graduated from medical school. Although he was talented and well suited for a career in medicine, he longed to be a poet. He ultimately abandoned a lucrative and reasonable career as an apothecary/physician to pursue his passion for poetry.

His early work was dismissed by the established literary circles. He fell madly in love but was unable to marry his beloved because of poverty and illness. He nursed his brother through tuberculosis and watched him die of the same disease that took his mother. On February 23, 1821, at the tender age of twenty-five, he too died of tuberculosis. It was only posthumously that he became known as one of England’s finest poets.

What can we possibly learn from this 19th century, twenty-something English Romantic poet in this 21st century hellscape?

His life was a testament that suffering and tragedy don’t get the last word. He believed that our longing is holy and that a poetic imagination can hold profound meaning and creativity. He gave us the concept of ‘negative capability’, which is the ability to accept uncertainty and mystery without incessantly reaching for reason or an explanation of why.

He believed in the discipline of living with ambiguity and the importance of tolerating paradox without collapsing it into certainty or immediate answers. These qualities seem especially relevant for this moment.

Did You Know:

Our country has past a significant milestone in our decent into fascism; we are entering into the penultimate stage of competitive autocracy. A few characteristics of this stage include:

• a significant consolidation of executive power

• a significant manipulation, harassment and control of independent media

• retribution of perceived political enemies

• manipulating the control and distribution of public resources

• massive campaigns of propaganda and misinformation

• the militarization of the army

• undermining the rule of law and significant influence over judicial institutions

• civil society continues to exist but is under increasing constraint and loss of individual freedoms

The ultimate goal is to control the outcome of elections; voting may occur but elections are not fully fair because the ‘regime’ will have set the stage to maintain power and work to ensure an unfair advantage to election outcomes.

Gerrymandering, voter suppression, manipulation of voter rolls, and undue influence of election officials are favorite tools in their toolbox. The 2026 midterms are a critical moment for us. It is up to us to stop this free fall into fascism and to make sure that history records it as a victory against fascism and not our democracy’s last stand.

Our Indiana Governor and the General Assembly continue to aid and abet this free fall. The most recent example of our home grown authoritarianism is the legislation that just passed out of the Assembly (SB76) which mandates that local police and county jails must honor ICE detainer requests and cannot adopt ‘sanctuary’ polices. The new law also allows the Attorney General to sue local units of government and public universities for up to $10,000 per violation of an existing ban on limiting immigration enforcement activities.

ICE has devolved into a reckless and lawless para military agency that is occupying our cities. American citizens are being murdered in their neighborhoods. Legal residents are being brutally kidnapped and disappeared. Protesters are being targeted and attacked. The Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s governing agency, denies these brutal attacks and defends this lawless behavior, yet our state just passed a law that says local police must cooperate with this lawlessness.

Why It Matters:

This is a moment when we must channel our inner Keats to live into the power of negative capacity and hold the paradox of two opposing truths.

It is true that our country is in a dangerously perilous moment. It is true that people all over the world are suffering under the oppressive practices of this regime and that we are being fed a firehouse of lies about what is happening. (This post was written before our country bombed Iran and killed innocent children in school). It is true that there is a remnant of MAGA supporters who support the brutality and inhumanity of this regime. It is true that things will continue to get worse.

It is also true that a powerful people’s movement is rising up in resistance to this regime and that a majority of the population are heartbroken about what is happening to our country and in the world. The is a rising tide of people who are imagining a brighter tomorrow that doesn’t include a return to yesterday’s flawed version of democracy.

Independent media platforms are emerging out of the ashes of mainstream media. Protests are occurring daily across the country and across the world in opposition to the injustices and lawlessness that is occurring. National protests like Hands Off and No Kings grow larger with each successive event. Vocal artists are joining the movement and are bringing joy to the cause. Special elections and state elections around the country have overwhelmingly elected pro-democracy and progressive leaders, often by wide margins in areas previously won by MAGA candidates. ‘Red’ states are beginning to flash bright purple.

Trump is underwater in the polls and becoming more unpopular by the week. He is a terrible fascist even though he was handed the playbook. He has overplayed his hand. It’s up to us to seize this moment, not just for ourselves but for the next generation. Our resistance is fueled by love and creativity. We know we can’t be certain of the outcome, but that doesn’t deter us. We are buoyed by commitment and community.

Image appeared in Timothy Snyder’s, Thinking About, February 25, 2026 Substack.

What We Can Do:

We have come a long way since January 20, 2025. We can’t turn back despite the daily disappointments, challenges and heartbreak. As Mary Oliver wrote, we must let ‘the soft animal of our body love what it loves’ ; to trust the holiness of our heart’s affection for this democracy, our communities, this country. We have to dare to imagine a brighter tomorrow and each of us must do what is ours to do to make that possible. A few things to remember:

• Talk about what matters to you, listen to what others are thinking and feeling. Stay connected.

• Connect with one or two of the myriad of groups that have emerged over the past several months. Volunteer for a political campaign.

• Don’t turn away from the news, but consume in doses that are tolerable. Put your trust in the emerging independent news platforms. Limit social media scrolling.

• Organize or participate in local street side rallies and protests, they are powerful ways to bear witness and bring hope to those who need the reassurance that there are more of us than there are them.

• Participate in the No Kings Rallies on March 28th. Bring friends and family with you!

• Practice becoming more comfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity.

• Just keep going. As Robert Frost said, The best way out is always through.

The poets have a lot to teach us!

In holy longing and poetic imagination,

Debbie and the H4D Team