In the Era of Donald Trump, there is a campaign raging right now, at the highest levels, to silence those who dare to voice dissent, right at the very moment — and this is hardly a coincidence — that American society is moving toward a new brand of authoritarianism that demands that decent people stand up and raise their voices. It exploded this weekend when Trump — deflecting attention from his myriad policy failures and whipping up his base on the extreme right — lashed out at pro football players who silently and non-violently protest police brutality and other social injustices by kneeling during the National Anthem as "sons of bitches" who ought to be fired by the NFL's billionaire owners for daring to take a stand. That's an appalling statement, even from a president who has displayed open contempt for a free press, free assembly, and other tenets of the Bill of Rights from the moment he launched his candidacy.