RevThread # 180
Fascism
1/ I promised myself I wouldn’t watch the Republican Convention, because I knew it would be stupid & upsetting & invite me into spasms of self-righteousness. I thought then I would just watch the first 30 min of “Morning Joe” & get the gist of the event.
Fascism
1/ I promised myself I wouldn’t watch the Republican Convention, because I knew it would be stupid & upsetting & invite me into spasms of self-righteousness. I thought then I would just watch the first 30 min of “Morning Joe” & get the gist of the event.
2/ Holy S***!
3/ Here’s the Merriam Webster definition of fascism: a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual,...
4/.. and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.
4/... and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.
sorry, lost thread -- starting over.
5/ Fascism, in the previous century, killed hundreds of millions of people. It is evil. We fought it valiantly. Now we have it. The Coronavirus is a punk compared to Trump’s version of fascism. Let’s explore.
6/ Prior even to Webster’s well-crafted definition, there is an etymology of the word “Fascists.” The word comes from the Latin “Fasces,” a prominent symbol of the Roman Empire.
7/ It means a bundle of sticks, tied together. That bundle was meant to show the strength that comes from unity – a bundle is way harder to break than a single stick. An empire is way stronger than a city or even a nation.
8/ The tie is the emperor, the person binding it together. And, of course, it’s much easier to tie together if all the sticks are the same. Mussolini, in 1915, chose the fasces as a symbol and name for his party.
9/ A couple more notes before returning to Trump’s GOP. The tie – the fascist leader – sells himself as the strong man who can resist the forces of chaos.
10/ Indeed, in Trump’s case his symbol is not a bundle of sticks but his actual tie – a bright long red arrow pointing to something he cannot otherwise find. VERY strong man.
11/ And as the number of followers expands, the sameness of the sticks is no longer gender or race -- though white males have been the dominant population of fascism. The sameness of the sticks is that they share the same adoration for the leader.
12/ Back to Webster’s definition. We’re given three features of fascism:
13/ 1] “Exalts nation and often race above the individual.” Here’s a party on parade that is overwhelmingly white, chants in unison U!S!A! on cue, exalts a gun-toting couple who are terrified by the notion that Black Lives Matter.
14/ 2] “. . . stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader.” My God, they refused to even consider a platform of values and ideas and programs as the goal of their power should they win the election....
15/..They simply promised to continue their uncritical adoration of the “Bodyguard of Western Civilization” in the blue suit.
16/ 3] “. . . severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition. . .” The only reason we are not there yet is that Trump has no management skills whatever, and this part of fascism demands hard work...
17/...There are, however, all kinds of monsters ready and willing to help him get the oppression organized.
18/ Fascism is all about idolatry. Idolatry is this: If we can create our own little god, then we are over-gods. Idolatry is an act of worshipping that hides a sneaky and extreme egotism.
19/ The followers, who are the actual god-makers, glory in their new and oh-so-special superiority that outsiders are just too inferior to understand. The followers feel a rush of illicit power, a frisson of forbidden intimate connection to power as they lift up their superman.
20/ Meanwhile, in Beijing and in Moscow, the quiet chortling continues.
21/ Partisan politics, until this moment, has never been about good and evil. Solzhenitsyn famously remarked: “The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either --
22/...but right through every human heart -- and through all human hearts.... and even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained.”
23/ But right now, before our eyes, the GOP has become a force of evil -- demonic and ignorant, oblivious to history and morality.
24/ They are striving to turn our vibrant, colorful garden into a stark, Stalinist island of dreary grey, dullness. That’s what fascism does. Hopefully, the one small bridgehead of good will be discovered in the GOP once Trump goes down.
25/ For right now, the task is simple: Vote them out.
