Are we still heading towards Fascism?

 

Are we still heading towards Fascism, or are we already there?  That's a question that bothers most of us, as we are seeing the GOP repeat the same old lies.  They feel that is a lie is repeated enough, people will begin to accept the lie as truth - the same tactic the Joseph Goebbels used in Nazi Germany during the 1930's.  Yet, only the unthinking proletarians in the party actually believe this bunkum and act against their own interests, while the cynical elite gains from these lies. 

But why do I ask the question as "Still Heading Towrards" Fascism?  The answer lies in what is being reported by both the mainstream (old) media, and that being reported by "independent" (new) media, such as YouTube videos and Podcasts. Lately, I have found that the quality of the independent media varies greatly, as both progressives and conservatives tend to spin the news to favor their groups.  Yet, these same people are covering things that old media isn't reporting, such as our president's gradually failing health.

Yet, the question still remains: Have we become a Fascist state?

If we haven't become a Fascist state, we are awfully close to becoming one.  High level military officials have resigned, rather than carry out unlawful orders. DOJ Prosecutors have regigned, rather than subject people on our president's "enemies list" to wrongful prosecutions, and people are actively protesting in the streets.  Our president (and his henchmen) have called the recent "No Kings" protests as Anti-American.  What about protest is Anti-American?  Our country was built on protest, and our civil rights were gained through protest.  The ability to protest without fear is essential to a functioning democratic republic.  And we still have that ability for now.

The warning signs of impending fascism are disturbing.  We have a president who has caused major broadcast networks to cancel their late night comedic hosts for skewering him in their monologues.  (Fortunately, public outrage forced the network to restore one of these late night hosts to his platform.) This man labels any network who tries to report the news fairly as "Fake News" and reduces access to their reporters when they ask him embarrassing questions. To make things worse, the president has violated the "Posse Comitatus" law, preventing the use of the US Military for domestic policing activities. This man keeps testing the limits of our republic, and has so far found little push back against him.

So what can be done?

Right now, we need to "force" the old media to report all the facts available.  This will mean write-in campaigns, as well as using the new media to cover our resistance efforts.  Most Americans, including MAGALoonies have a sense of right and wrong.  Expose the crimes being committed by the current regime in ways that get their attention, and that's half the battle of winning their hearts.  Right now, people consume their news within news bubbles.  Find ways to break into the bubbles to get our voices heard.  Once people start to feel how unjust this regime is, its support will fall off.  The war in Vietnam ended because key voting blocks stopped giving the government the support it needed to continue the war.  The same can happen to this law-breaking regime.     

Clarence Darrow said it best.

 

"I have never killed any one, but I have read some obituary notices with great satisfaction."

Clarence Darrow

Recently, a right wing activist was murdered. No one important on the left is justifying his murder, but many are glad that this man is dead - he spewed hatred gussied up to sound acceptable to the younger generation. Although some of his points may have been valid (I never bothered to listen to this man's arguments), the general overtone of his messages have seduced people into believing the falsehoods spewed out by the right wing media. A quick look at the statistics will show that there are 3 times as many right wing assassinations than left wing assassinations in the USA. Yet, the right wing media conveniently ignores the murders committed by their loyalists and focuses on those from the left. Media bias in action to say the least.

I will never condone murder of any kind. Yet I wonder. If I could go back in time and erase the likes of Hitler, Stalin, Mao and others from history, would it be ethical to save millions of people by removing one from the earth? It's a simple case of the "Trolley Problem" on a larger scale. Most people would do nothing and let god (if there is one) decide. It is the rare person who would terminate the one person's life to save five lives. Yet, this is what many generals are tasked to do in wartime. So we have an ethical dilemma - what would you do? Sadly, there is no one right answer to problems like this. We can be glad that someone is dead. But we must prosecute the murderer to the best of our ability and get the guilty verdict he so rightly deserves.

- - - - - -

Right now, we are in a battle for our freedom. We can not use violence to achieve our ends, now that an authoritarian regime is in control of the federal government. If someone were to use terrorist tactics to attack the government, it would only result in an even more forceful crackdown on our personal liberties. So, what should we do?

It is said that people who chose not to study history are doomed to make the mistakes of the past But people who know history are able to see patterns of evil and use proven strategies to combat evil used by others in the past. Now is the time to study the tactics and strategies of Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohatma Gandhi. Although both leaders were asassinated, they achieved much of what they wanted in life. For Dr. King, he helped America realize that equal rights for all must become part of America's DNA. For Gandhi, it was the liberation if India from British rule.

I can still remember this man who stood in front of a row of Chinese tanks. What would happen if more of us were to stand in front of our president's goons and capture them on video as they break the law and attack innocent people? We already have seen his goons sink a Quebecers' boat on Lake Ticonderoga (on the small Canadian part of the lake) claiming he was in American waters. We have seen his goons sink a Venezualan boat with the false claim they were smuggling drugs into America. And to make things worse, the regime has deported American citizens, all in its attempts to "Make America White Again."

What can we do to short curcuit our president's evil actions? The only answer lies in non violent actions. Blockading ICE vehicles when they are harassing people is one thing to do. Video recording their illegal actions and sending it to the media (YouTube.com, Print Media, and Broadcast media) is an essential way to expose their crimes. There are many more things that one can do non violently. Any form of non violent resistance is essential. One should read how Dr. King and Gandhi achieved their goals, and use their methods.

Hopefully, we're not too late to stop this slide to authoritarianism....