Marble Falls Wow, this is getting really serious now! Being older than dirt, I’m familiar with hearing comrades and friends in conversation over the last numerous decades calling this politician or whomever a fascist for one reason or another. It was common as an approbation for Lyndon Johnson during the Vietnam War and for George W. Bush in several wars, as progressives groped for labels to stick onto abhorrent policies. The term is much bandied about by protestors of the current Gaza War referring to the Israeli government under Netanyahu. In short, I’ve often heard it slung about at this one or that one without much of a sting or impact.
Now is different though. Fascism is in the news. The former chairman of US military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark A. Milley, “…warned that former president Donald Trump is a “fascist to the core” and “the most dangerous person to this country” in new comments voicing his mounting alarm at the prospect of the Republican nominee’s election to another term, according to a forthcoming book by Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward.” Whoa, doggies, that’s not a slur hurled from the streets behind a protest sign, but a shot right from the top of the governmental and military elite of the country. That’s not all of course.
Kamala Harris has agreed that Donald Trump is a fascist in her most forthright statement yet in casting her presidential opponent as a potential autocrat harboring authoritarian visions should he return to the White House. The US vice-president and Democratic nominee crossed a psychologically important boundary in addressing the issue of fascism in an interview with Charlamagne Tha God, an influential radio host whose audience reaches a predominantly Black audience of 8 million listeners monthly.
The reason this is such a serious charge is historical. Germany’s Adolph Hitler and Italy’s Benito Mussolini ran fascist governments and triggered World War II to stop fascism. When this charge is embedded in a presidential campaign, it’s something more than “sticks and stones” competing with “words,” it’s a dire warning and a wakeup call to the people getting ready to vote about where this path might lead.
Let’s be clear. Here’s what fascism as a political movement is. Wikipedia says,
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement,[1][2][3] characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary definition is that…
Fascism is a populist political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual, that is associated with a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, and that is characterized by severe economic and social regimentation and by forcible suppression of opposition.
None of that sounds good!
This all goes way beyond standard issue mudslinging and name-calling that characterizes way too many campaigns. This is serious and indicts Trump based on the words coming out of his own mouth these days, as well as his actions when he was president. This goes way past the rationalization that “oh, never mind, this is just Trump being Trump;” he doesn’t really mean it. Be careful. His constant repetition of threats and so-called promises against the opposition, about using the military, and getting rid of workers and rivals is his program. Voters sympathetic to some of his antics and positions can no longer pretend that calmer heads will cool him down and distract his antics once in office. Those people are all long gone from his circle, and he’s been clear that in a second term, he will be unleashed.
Unbelievably, it seems the choice this November is between democracy and fascism. Who would have ever imagined that it would get this bad here?