Back in the days of the cold war when at least two armored American divisions where on instant alert in the Fulda Gap to stop a Russian invasion, political junkies would occasionally ponder the different sects of communism—Russian, Cuban, Vietnamese—and how they might evolve in the modern world.
Way back in the day there used to be another form of very bad human government, fascism, and it too had its homegrown distinctions: German, Italian, and some ersatz wannabes in South America. One could look back in history and generalize the communism and fascism but there was always the knowledge each country had its own distinct flavor and implementation.
To the shocking horror of millions of us, incredibly, a new form of fascism has emerged in the 21st century, American fascism. Lately I’ve noticed a form of denial to the development, many writers and pundits use the made-up word of Trumpism, as if his presence was a purely unique phenomena of government deserving a new word.
Heh, please. Trump and the 21st century Republican Party are fascists, those who point to 20th century Germany and Italy and say we’re not them, well, of course not, they were unique in their development and thus so are we. Still, the truth of where we are and what we have become irrevocably slams modern America into a classification of fascism, there is no escape.
The truth and the first amendment mean nothing to Trump and the Republicans. They embrace propaganda as fervently as any German fascist, just look at that amazing brain sludge they produced for the Koreans. Constant, exhausting gaslighting and fantasy render any possible vehicle for the truth crippled. Trump constantly, specifically attacks individual outlets, Goebbels nods in hell at all of this.
They’re insatiable, disgusting grifters, Trump flagrantly stomps on the Constitution enriching himself with golf while Ivanka and Jared raked in an incredible $82 million dollars last year. $82 million! Are you kidding me? Public service is a laughable fantasy with these fascists, money, racism and lying are their gods.
The rule of law, oh well, slap another critical political principle into the new flavor of American fascism, it means nothing to Trump and the Republicans. Steal a Supreme Court seat to further suppress votes, and an appalling pardon pattern specifically designed to circumvent law itself, not just a crime. Watch another horrified American resign in the Department of Justice as Trump attacks healthcare, American fascism loathes its founding constitution.
Trump and the Republicans have their American fascism scapegoat, naturally, immigrants, particularly immigrants of color. This very day horrified Americans are watching children being ripped from their parents as they seek asylum, plans for a 5,000 bed American concentration camp in the works.
A purely American twist to its blend of fascism is how it happened, usually terrible forms of government emerge out of chaos and instability, but American fascism was born out of a cheat, Trump and the Republicans conspired with the Russians to defeat Hillary Clinton. Thus, amazingly, America is still in many ways a Democracy but coddles and encourages dictatorships.
Embrace is such an inadequate word for what Trump and the Republicans have given the Russians, I’m surprised the nuclear codes haven’t been handed over. Trump is Putin’s dog on a leash, because of the election cheat American fascism is uniquely beholden to another foreign power, Russia. Fun times, eh?
For all this and much more the 21st century America is easily fascist, yet the takeover is not yet complete. There’s real hope we can get out of this, but we so easily could not.
The American corporate journalism corps will be of little help, they’re a huge reason American fascism emerged and naturally they’ve fallen flat on their face with the phenomena of Trump. They accept zero responsibility for their gross persecution of Hillary Clinton, refuse to acknowledge the fascism of Trump and go furiously barking after any outrageous lie story Trump launches every week. They’re clueless in defining the sick degradation of the Republican Party and could give a damn about little working people.
Our only hope is the bedrock Democracy of America itself as it resides in the fifty states. Not only did Trump, Republicans and the Russians conspire to persecute Hillary Clinton, they swamped the election with bots and propaganda. Did they hack State systems? To a small, worrying extent.
But American Democracy can still respond and start a recovery with Election 2018 by voting the fascists out of power—in theory. The Russians have not penetrated us that far, not yet.
Will we? That’s our great hope and goal, to do everything possible to win the midterms, to recover, recovery of the Democracy. As of now the American Democracy has been lost, we are in Trumpism, we are the new 21st century American fascists.