Do you wish we had politicians who were honest enough to admit the game is rigged, who had actual experience in business and understood how the economy really works, who knew exactly how to stop the illegal flow of immigrants flooding across our borders, taking our jobs and corrupting our culture, who would finally call out all the lies being told by the Liberal media, who were willing to do whatever it took to end years of corruption and political dysfunction, who were willing to do away with unnecessary and burdensome regulations that are strangling our small businesses, who actually had the courage to call out voter fraud and a willingness to put a Conservative system in place that would guarantee fair and accurate elections, who understood that law and order was simply a matter of enforcing laws that were already in place, who could guarantee good jobs only for our own citizens, who understood that homosexuality was an abomination, who called out big government and those wealthy elite who have been secretly ruining our great country, the deep state, who were grounded in and willing to fight for real Christian values, who truly believed in our great country and who were willing to put its own citizens first, celebrating our greatness, with no apologies, who were willing to end the reign of Liberals and socialists who have failed to provide an economy that works for its own citizens?
Wisdom of the Ages
For most Republicans, the answer to the above is a resounding “yes.” It pretty well characterizes Republicans’ frustrations, hopes and dreams, which has led to the emergence of Trumpism, the cult. The above also happens to capture the frustrations, hopes and dreams of most Germans, around 1929. I know everyone hates it when I compare Trump to Hitler, but the parallels are endless; it’s as if he’d been using Mein Kompf as his guide all along, a book Trump infamously kept/keeps on his nightstand. By 1928, Germany had recovered from the war and businesses were making a comeback. As a result, Germans seemed to lose interest in the hatred Hitler and his Nazi Party had been pandering. In the election of 1928 the Nazis received only about 2% of the vote. Hitler’s flurry of successes from the mid 1920s had all but petered out. As a quick side note, it’s interesting to learn about Fascism in America during this period, as well.
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Then in 1929, the stock market crashed, followed by the Great Depression. Leaders around the world scrambled to avoid complete economic collapse, including Germany. It was out of all this mass hysteria, misery and chaos that Hitler ascended to power. His arguments finally began to resonate with the “good” people of Germany and he captured the Chancellery in 1933. It took a little more than ten years but he did it. Keep in mind, there was no talk of dictatorships, holocausts or wars during that period. Just a lot of winning. Sound familiar?
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If history is any lesson, we may be one economic collapse away from some modern derivative of fascism. It happened in Russia after the fall of the Soviets. And it is happening right here in River City. If the midterms go as many are predicting, the GOP will gain control of both the Senate and Congress.
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Ego
In what is likely to be the most pivotal moment in our history, the 2022 midterms, let us face, once and for all, the ugly truth about America. That is, the more ruthless you are, the better you are at lying, the cleverer you are, the more audacious, the less burdened you are by conscience, the more likely you are to win, in politics, in commerce and in most positions of authority. We have raised up the outlaws, the rule breakers, the bad boys, the gangsters to such a place of reverence, that we shouldn’t be surprised that our country has been overrun by a pack of rabid sociopaths. It makes sense. We came here to conquer and oppress, even as we fought and cheated our way out of oppression. This came at a great cost to our soul. Think of the worst things Trump is accusing immigrants of being today. Our immigrant forefathers made them look like Doris Day. The sociopathy component of winning at all costs is integral to the American DNA. This idea of Manifest Destiny has evolved into some pretty crazy thinking over the years.
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Republicans actually believe they are ordained by God to lead, and Democrats are inherently illegitimate, no matter what their beliefs. Where on Earth did they get this crazy delusion? Because, believe me, Manifest Destiny and the Republican self-ordination didn’t come from God. It’s most definitely a crazy man’s world. But this latest turn is really so f^*#ed up, on so many levels. What’s next? If a public-school football team prays before a game and they lose, can they now claim they won anyway? Or do they have to be registered Republicans who also pray? How far are they going to take this? Well, so far they’ve taken it all the way to the Supreme Court. In fact, this mass political insanity has spread and corrupted all levels and branches of our government, local, state and federal. And its not just that they believe Democrats are illegitimate. I saw a billboard today stating the 2020 election must be illegitimate. Why? Because how else could Biden win 81 million votes? Today’s Republicans are so narcissistic as to believe it impossible so many people could disagree with them. The answer to how far are they going to take this is, as far as we will let them.. How do school yard bullies become a fascist régime? Answer: one vote at a time.
The U.S. Department of Education says 54% of U.S. adults 16-74 years old, about 130 million people lack proficiency in literacy, reading below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level. That means more than half the voting population lacks critical thinking skills. Those who lack this ability tend to make decisions based on feelings rather than on objective analysis. Without critical thinking skills, they will take positions that make them feel good, whether or not they are good. I believe all the cuts in education the Republicans have been pushing for years has been only one part of an over arching plan to transform our democracy into an authoritarian, theocratic, fascist society. They are after complete control of every aspect of of American life. They are the deep state. That’s why Trump can’t identify who the deep state is. He is and always has been their pawn.
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Winning is Everything
Meanwhile, how can “doing the right thing” possibly compete with “winning at any cost?” After all, everyone wants to win; it feels so darn good to win. Trump has tapped into this very primal feeling. But since the GOP can’t actually win a majority in a fair election, they reason, in effect, “we have to win first, any way we can. Then we’ll be benevolent leaders.” “Of course, this will never happen,” says my friend, Erica Chappuis, “because they will become increasingly drunk on power and drunks aren’t benevolent.” I believe with the January 6th coup attempt and the recent Supreme Court decisions, we’ve only had a small foretaste of the Right’s impending, bitter, American-style fascism.
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The big question, does all this make you sad or angry? In case you’re having trouble deciding, maybe I can help you: anger is depression expressed outward, or as Ms. Chappuis suggests, “anger is fear, cornered.” Either way, it’s time for Democrats, Liberals, Progressives, however you choose to identify, to stop being depressed and start getting angry. It is the healthier choice on so many levels. The Republicans have already discovered this, fanning the fires of anger for years on Fox news. Fortunately, we still enjoy a slim majority. But we are still, for the most part, a silent majority, a sleeping giant. How many more of our institutions do they have to destroy before sane people everywhere stand up and say, enough? We need to wake up now. We need to start speaking out at least as loudly as the pack of sociopaths currently holding the microphone. We need to volunteer and contribute. We need to march. We need to have a national strike. And we need to VOTE! If history has taught us anything, the 2022 election will be the tipping point.
Here is a fascinating interview with Aaron J. Leonard, author of The Hitler Conspiracies, that gets deeply into the dynamics of conspiracy theories and draws some marked distinctions between 1940’s Fascism and the populist fascism of today.
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