There is a homemade sign in the traffic circle of my Middle Sound neighborhood that says “Drain the Swamp.” It’s not far from where I placed a Clinton-Kaine sign that was stolen within 48 hours; its replacement didn’t last 24. Despite this animosity, not to mention criminal behavior, I got involved and knocked on doors to “get out the vote.” One woman answered, confirming that the registered voter who lived there before had moved. “We’re big Republicans,” she shouted. “We’ve got to get rid of all the liberals!”

I hurried to my car and took some deep breaths. There is no conversation to be had, no bridge to build. Up to now, I have believed in what I understood to be a core value of our democracy, of our humanity -- respect for one another as human beings.

During the campaign, I was appalled and repulsed to hear the GOP nominee routinely use disrespectful language only to be told now that I wasn’t supposed to believe what he said. “He didn’t really mean those things. He’s an entertainer.”

Whoa! The rules have clearly changed. Lies have become more powerful than truth, persuasion more effective than knowledge, and self-interest prized above all else. Despite the majority of Americans who voted in favor of our founding values of respect and common decency, rabid hatred has won the day. Hatred sown by years of propaganda dressed up as news.

“Pursuit of a more perfect union” suddenly means getting rid of “those people.” That would be me. President Obama said we must “dust ourselves off, lick our wounds and get back into the arena.” But the rules of the game have changed … it’s probably even foolish of me to write this essay. Who will read it? Maybe the “college-educated white men and women who voted for Trump” -- or the ones who left that line blank?

Lies (birther movement.) Deception (no tax returns). Theft (Wiki-leaks/stealing signs). Manipulation (Comey letter/voter suppression). Scapegoating. These are the tactics -- our new American values -- espoused by the president-elect and those who are scurrying to curry his favor.

For the first time in my life, I feel unsafe in my own country. I look around and suddenly don’t know my neighbors. I can’t understand how they could march in blind loyalty to “party” and in so doing dismiss the values of honesty and truth, in favor of blatant bigotry and outright hate. This is their “pursuit of a more perfect union.”

But then the echoes come again…. “Drain the swamp. Get rid of all the liberals -- and everyone else who doesn’t look and act like we do.” I went to bed in a democracy and woke up in a budding fascist state.

The “rule of law” only works if it is recognized and agreed upon by its citizens -- if it is respected. Our “rule of law” is a man-made invention; it is not bound by gravitational forces or atmospheric pressure. And in our -- at least for now -- secular government, it has not been handed down by God. The “rule of law” is as malleable as a tower of sand. And the powers of persuasion, deception and outright falsehoods can re-shape our laws so fast, we will all be scrambling for solid ground. But that ground has shifted to sand, and our democracy is in more peril today that at any time in my lifetime.

The fact that so many Americans, especially many in leadership positions, do not see the danger -- or if they see it become complicit through their silence -- is perhaps the most terrifying aspect to this “movement.”

“For evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing.” -- Simon Wiesenthal.

Dr. Catherine McCall is a community mental health psychiatrist in Wilmington and holds an M.F.A in Creative Writing from UNC Wilmington.