In 1939, the United States forced the St. Louis, a ship carrying over 900 Jewish refugees who were fleeing Nazi Germany, to turn around. Of those passengers, almost 30 percent are known to have died in the Holocaust. Overall, about 70 percent of them died whether in World War II or directly at the hands of the Nazis.

You have probably seen the photo of Alan Kurdi, the little toddler face-down, with sneakers, on the beach, after fleeing Syria. Syria, which has been decimated, in part due to U.S. intervention and negligence in the Middle East. Syria, which, in five years, has seen nearly half a million people killed. Syria, where 4 million people have left their homeland, and 12 million are displaced. Syria, where President Donald Trump has gone out of his way to specifically ban refugees from coming from. Where are they supposed to go? Where are ALL the refugees he is banning, right now, from ALL countries, supposed to go? Fact is, Trump is saying: "Let them die. You bring us wealth, as in Iraq's oil and all our military contracts, but you are not allowed to come here, after we have gravely wounded your country."

How is Trump's anti-refugee and anti-Muslim policy different than when those persecuted Jews came seeking safety in the United States and were sent back to die?

Fact: There are far more incidents of shootings involving a toddler holding a gun than a so-called Islamic terrorist.

You are 55 times more likely to be killed by a falling TV set than an Islamic extremist.

You are 190,625 times more likely to die of a heart attack.

You are 15 times more likely to die of a lightning strike than a Muslim attack.

So when Trump lays out his new immigration policies and says it is for national security, it is a big fat lie with extremely dangerous consequences.

Even saying that immigration must be stopped because it is bad for jobs for those already here is a lie too. Guess where all the money is? The super rich are hoarding it, and writing the laws to benefit themselves, while keeping the rest of us fighting over low-wage jobs. There would be enough to go around if the super-rich would pay into the system, if they would stop controlling the system to their benefit, or beefing up the military, which, according to the War Resisters League, accounts for 40 percent of the federal budget.

Growing up under the shadow of the Holocaust, in which relatives of mine died; growing up in this area and trying to hide the fact that I was Jewish because there was so much racism, anti-gay and anti-Jewish sentiment; growing up where my synagogue, Adas Yoshuron, was attacked with swastikas, I don't make Hitler analogies lightly, but Trump with his lies, his bullying, his censorship, and most of all, his political policies, is more fascistic than anything I have seen in my lifetime.

There are many in our communities who are really scared, and are experiencing increased attacks — -this is happening in the schools with students bullying other students, saying that "Trump" told them to do it. This is happening on the streets, with people of color being yelled at, being actively driven out of our all-too-homogenous communities.

What do we do when faced with all of this? Do we cower, do we fear for our jobs, our families? Yes, many of us do. Some of us must, in order to try to stay safe. But some of us have to choose, especially those with relative privilege — we who have less to lose. We have to make our dissent visible. We have to post signs that show we are not like our president, that we believe in basic human rights for all, that we will be a safe person to turn to. We must be involved in making local resolutions that declare our support for diversity and safety in our communities.

Sometimes I comfort myself knowing that most people in this country don't approve of Trump. But does it really matter? Unless we resist with every inch of our bodies, unless we support federal employees in refusing to do the bidding of tyrants, unless we keep getting involved in creative resistance and mass strikes, we have given up our power to a handful of people who have been plotting a right-wing takeover of the federal government for decades. They know that this is their moment, and are not interested in appealing to our pesky protests, whether we number in the dozens or in millions.

I think the reason I wanted to, with my friend Kendra Denny, put on last week's emergency rally about Trump's immigration policies, is because even if we ARE somewhat powerless, we have to show that not everyone in this country, and certainly, in Midcoast Maine, wants to ban all Muslims, wants to build a wall with Mexico, from which country we already have a net immigration of zero. We have to show again and again that we do not believe in bigotry and scapegoating; we have to stand up over and over, together, even when we are afraid, even when we are alone, to try to provide safety and support for those who are most in danger.

Echoes of the Holocaust are creeping in: a populist, fascistic leader who engages in witch hunts and mass stereotyping, who has mastered the art of lying and distraction, and actively encourages vigilante and state violence is now sitting in the Oval Office. Each of us is called upon to act and speak up in ways we may never have before. There are no heroes; only us.