Many of us – those who are politically concerned, at least – are at a loss to know what to do to correct the nation\u2019s rush to dismantle democracy in favor of authoritarianism. To call what\u2019s happening fascism is no longer speculative but an empirical truth. The United States is becoming a fascist state. And it\u2019s happening almost in the blink of an eye!<\/p>\n
Look up the definition of fascism in any dictionary, history or political science text, google it and, above all, think about it and you will come face to face with the awful reality of what is happening right now as you read these lines. Fascism is a government where the power is in the hands of one leader and\/or a small group belonging to one political party. Fascism is characterized by nationalism, including racial and religious, elitism and militarism. It also stresses economic self-sufficiency and gives priority to the nation over the individual. Private enterprise is subordinated to the needs of the state.<\/p>\n
With each passing day, more and more people express dismay or outrage about the latest news coming out of Washington. It does not take a university don to understand that Trump\u2019s attacks on the universities, law firms, the courts, businesses and corporations, political opponents, immigrants, newspapers and television, libraries and military officers loyal to their oaths all point to the coming of an authoritarian state. His exaltation of white supremacists, Christian nationalists, and the slogan \u201cMake America Great Again\u201d echo Nazi efforts to resurrect Germany in the distorted image of its leaders.<\/p>\n
Make no mistake about it. We are in a very perilous period. What dismays me most is the reluctance of people to take up the challenge, to speak up and take what action they can. What I hear from friends and acquaintances and the general public is that they don\u2019t know what they can do. I understand this, but I also hear that they don\u2019t have the stomach for crying out, for speaking out in their communities. Too often they don\u2019t want to put themselves out there where they might be judged or ridiculed. They are afraid of speaking out and offending their neighbors, their fellow parishioners, their friends. Their excuse is that it doesn\u2019t do any good.<\/p>\n
By not speaking out, by not taking offense to the indefensible, we are enabling the sordid MAGA movement to prevail, we are casting our vote that things are okay, we are abdicating our responsibilities as citizens of a free country. And if that is not enough, we are letting ourselves down if we allow those who support Trump to believe that our silence is acquiescence.<\/p>\n
We may not be *Dietrich Bonhoeffer or **Martin Niemoller but we can and must actively speak out.<\/p>\n
*Bonhoeffer was a prominent Protestant minister executed in 1945 for his opposition to the Nazis.<\/p>\n
**Niemoller, a prominent Protestant pastor, was an early Nazi supporter who became an outspoken critic of Hitler. He is most often remembered for his famous quote: \u201cFirst they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out – because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Many of us – those who are politically concerned, at least – are at a loss to know what to do to correct the nation\u2019s rush to dismantle democracy in favor of authoritarianism. To call what\u2019s happening fascism is no longer speculative but an empirical truth. The United States is becoming a fascist state. And…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-by-robert-fischer"],"yoast_head":"\n