The Simple Truth About Evil in Government: Hannah Arendt's Warning for 2025

Summary

What Hannah Arendt Discovered

Hannah Arendt watched a Nazi called Adolf Eichmann in court in 1961.

Eichmann organized trains that sent 6 million Jewish people to death camps.

Arendt thought Eichmann would be scary. But he was boring. He said he was "just doing his job."

Arendt discovered something important: evil does not need evil people.

Evil happens when ordinary people stop thinking.

What Is Happening in America Right Now

Today in 2025, the American government is doing something similar.

ICE agents are arresting immigrants. They are separating children from parents. They are holding people in detention camps.

Most of these ICE agents are ordinary people. They say they are "just following orders."

They do not think about the children they are separating. They do not think about the families they are destroying. They just execute procedures.

In 2025, more than 600 immigrant children were placed in detention facilities.

They are held for 6 months on average. Many are teenagers who have lived in America for years. They were arrested after minor traffic violations. Now they sit in cages without seeing their families.

Is this evil?

Yes. But is it perpetrated by evil people?

No. It is perpetrated by ordinary government workers who do not think.

The President Is Now Above the Law

In July 2024, the Supreme Court said the president is immune from prosecution.

This means the president can use the Justice Department and FBI to arrest his political enemies, and he cannot be prosecuted for it.

Arendt studied totalitarian governments. In totalitarian systems, the law becomes a tool of the dictator.

The law does not protect people. It enforces the dictator's will. Now the American Supreme Court has said this is constitutional.

Nobody Feels Responsible

The immigration system is designed so that nobody feels responsible. Here is how it works:

The president orders mass deportations. But he does not personally deport anyone.

Congress gives $170 billion for immigration enforcement. But Congress does not arrest anyone.

ICE agents arrest people. But they say they are just following federal orders.

Immigration judges decide deportations. But they say they are just applying law.

Detention center workers hold people. But they say they are just following procedures.

At each step, the person says "I am not responsible. I am just doing my job." But at the end, 32 people die in detention, 600+ children are separated from families, and 390,000 people are deported.

This is exactly how Adolf Eichmann justified his crimes.

He said: "I was just 1 cog in a big machine. I was not responsible."

The court found him guilty anyway.

But in 2025, the American system is deliberately designed to prevent anyone from feeling responsible.

The Courts Cannot Stop the Government

Federal judges are powerless. When judges try to stop ICE from deporting people, the Trump administration sues the judges.

Judges told reporters: "We cannot enforce our orders. The executive branch has law enforcement power. We have nothing."

In a democracy, courts are supposed to stop the government from doing illegal things. In 2025, courts have lost this power.

This is totalitarianism.

The Real Danger

Arendt said the most dangerous evil comes from people who stop thinking.

An ICE agent who arrests a teenager for a cracked windshield does not think: "This person has lived here 10 years. This person has no criminal record. This arrest will destroy their life."

🛑The agent just executes the arrest quota.

The immigration system in 2025 is deliberately designed to make thinking impossible. Judges who think too much can be fired. Workers who question orders face retaliation. The system incentivizes thoughtlessness.

This is how totalitarianism comes to democracies: slowly, through ordinary bureaucracy, through people who are "just doing their jobs."

Conclusion

The Warning

Hannah Arendt's warning is simple: when ordinary people stop thinking and just obey procedures, evil happens. The president is now above the law.

The courts are powerless. Congress gives unlimited money with no oversight. The immigration system runs on quotas, not judgment.

Nobody thinks. Nobody feels responsible. And evil spreads through the machinery of thoughtlessness.