Something undeniably antifascist about the blue wave is how it was driven by material conditions. Instead of theoretical warnings, ordinary people experienced for themselves the exhaustion, stress, inflation, and everyday fear of systems rooted in brute authority. That is a generational lesson.

History shows that lesson will be forgotten as decades pass, but for now it's in living memory. That's a powerful inoculation against an immediate resurgence.

Of course, if it cloaks itself in a fully reinvented aesthetic, people might not recognize it. But the "winning" template tends to hold a chokehold on the imagination of those inspired by it. It's doubtful some kind of mad genius is going to figure out a wholly new mask to put on the specific turd that is latent fascism in the US.

Now, will the more familiar form remain active as "normal" tries to reassert itself? Of course, but that's where transformative mutual aid comes in. While people are self-aware of their power, we have an opportunity to plant ideas that politicians are incapable of imagining.

Each of us needs to be tapping into the hopes and curiosity of our friends and family, shining a light on what's possible, and lighting a path into a future that looks nothing like the past that we know is dying.

Progress comes in waves - now it's our turn to max out the potential of the wave we're in.