It needs to happen regardless, but no, we are worse off than they were. There are a lot more ways to track people, which is one major negative. Back then there weren't a system designed to prevent and punish striking. Now there is. If it ends up happening at the scale that's needed to make a difference then there will be fights against private militias and the government again.

Except that the US government and corporations have spent the years since convincing the people that there's a right way to protest, and that it's by holding signs on a street corner - preferably out of view. This is why MLK was seen as a violent thug during the Civil Rights Movement and is seen as a hero today. Their struggle has been whitewashed to remove what actually happened and turned into an example of changing things the "right way" - by gently asking your oppressors to stop oppressing you. The US is one of the most propagandized populations on the planet. Our children pledge their undying loyalty every morning to the flag that hangs in every classroom. The only other countries on Earth to have done that are North Korea and the Hitler's Youth program in Nazi Germany.

They've also gutted any form of support network for the same reason. The US populace is staunchly anti-union because companies have convinced us that worker's rights are bad. They've made everybody dependent on keeping their job to keep food on the table and a roof over their head, of course, but also to see a doctor if you have a fever. And God forbid it's anything worse than that. It's bread and circuses with a dash of the Sword of Damocles.

So not only do we have to convince people to risk their lives to fight a fascist regime and their police force that is armed as well as many countries military, we have to convince the pearl clutchers that snarky taglines on signs aren't going to solve things, and reconstruct support networks that haven't existed for over half a century, and prevent the 45% of the population who support the fascists from voluntarily drafting themselves to root out any resistance, if not start shooting them in the streets. The FBI spends half their time putting down white supremacist militias. All they'd have to do is stop doing that and let the Trump regime do the rest by tweeting from the toilet at 3am. Those most likely to take up arms against the system are the same people who support the current system.

The average person isn't brave enough to risk their life. If they were, we'd see Canadians coming down to burn down the White House again. We'd see Mexicans crossing the southern border. We'd see aid networks forming from other countries to provide support for anybody willing to resist. But we don't and we won't. And I don't mean that in a "other countries should solve American problems" way, but that people in other countries are just as likely to say, "Not my fight, not my problem. Somebody else should deal with it" as Americans are. It's human nature. If it wasn't, we'd see more people taking out healthcare CEOs. More people would've supported the IRA. We'd have far more examples instead of Blair Mountain and the Haymarket Affair.

It's easy for the armchair generals of the world to say that Americans should just arm themselves and go to war against the largest military on the planet when it isn't their necks on the line.