Editor’s Note: This is a guest commentary. The opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board.

Lately, I’ve heard all kinds of responses when talking to people before and after the election. I’ve heard people afraid of the current state of the world, I’ve heard people afraid of deportation, environmental catastrophe, economic downturn, discrimination and the decline of democracy. I’ve heard that people are afraid.

One of our many missions at the Leftist Study Club is to point out the real culprit to people’s current fears and circumstances, as well as the rise of fascism: a system that values the profit for billionaires and corporations over human lives, i.e. our current neoliberal capitalist system. 

We must never forget, however, that there would be no fascist movement if there were no real crisis and economic hardship and no real reasons to fear these issues.

I am afraid. I am afraid I won’t be able to get a job when I graduate. I am afraid I won’t be able to build a prosperous life for myself and my family. I fear I won’t be able to afford the simplest of human rights. I fear for my friends, and I fear for my family.

Republicans have the exact same fears, and that is what fascism preys on. Fascism gives false answers to real problems. We are all watching corporations making record profits, Amazon could give its 1.5 million employees a $10,000 bonus and still have a potential $40 billion profit. Amazon profited $50 billion last year.  The middle class is disappearing as 35% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, according to CNBC. We see groceries and rent prices going up, and homelessness becoming a looming possibility and reality to many. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, when median rents increase by $100, homelessness rates rise by 9%. The average monthly rent has increased by $400 in the last five years.​ People are financially hurting. 

The crumbling American economy is now being blamed on immigrants, transgender people and all forms of minorities who are being used as scapegoats and pose no real threat to American society. The dominant class has historically utilized the same fear mongering tactics instead of placing blame on the real culprit. History is repeating itself.

From some Democrats, I’ve heard mockery and a belief in moral superiority over those who voted for President-elect Donald Trump or third-party candidates. This belief does nothing for the crumbling working class. It further reinforces this “us vs. them” that currently separates people who all wish for security and freedom.

Most of Americans’ fears have nothing to do with the election itself; they were only brought to the surface by it. 

Our actions must be moved by a deep sense of love. Love for all races, genders, sexualities and peoples. Love for the blue-collar Republican, who is also a victim of the current system. Freedom for all means freedom for all the working class, and that is what we are fighting for. 

In the LSC, we do not fight for the rights of leftists, liberals or Democrats. We fight for the rights of the working people of America and the world — freedom from fear and freedom from the failed two-party system, a system that allows for a fascist figure such as Donald Trump to be in power.

One might say that it simply was “the will of the people” to elect Donald Trump. This assertion is partially true, but it ignores the fact that the current system legally allows for corruption under the name of lobbying. The current system allows for lies about immigrants, queer people, people of color and all minorities in the form of propaganda on the internet, on news broadcasts and from the mouth of a billionaire President of the United States. The current capitalist dominant class favors having a billionaire as president. The working class does not.

At the LSC, we do not accept this. We refuse this system. Its power shall not reach us and our loved ones. We are the only ones who can ensure that. Do you and your family work or will in the future work in exchange for a salary? Then you are a member of the working class, and you are more than welcome at the LSC. The LSC fosters opportunities for discussions, readings, community-building and action. We are always looking for new members and clubs to partner up with.

The current system has failed and separated us, so let’s build a new system of dialogue and solidarity. We will work against fear. We will work for love. And we will work for each other. Let’s talk to each other, and most importantly, let us listen to each other.