I am inspired by the news coming from Germany. An investigative journalism organization, Correctiv, recently reported on a secret meeting that included known neo-Nazis along with members of the right-wing populist party “Alternative für Deutschland” (AfD), as well as sympathetic businesspeople. The AfD has been surging recently, and is already represented in the German parliament. The theme of the meeting, according to Correctiv’s English-language page on the meeting, was “Nothing less than the fine tuning of a plan for the forced deportations of millions of people currently living in Germany.” (The Correctiv page can be found at Correctiv.org).
The result has been immediate, widespread and very public protests that have spread out to many German cities, and which are continuing with plans for a national demonstration to defend the Bundestag — the parliament building whose predecessor was torched, almost certainly by Nazi provocateurs, in 1933, leading to the cancellation of civil rights and the imposition of the party’s dictatorship.
What I found especially inspiring was a line quoted in The Guardian. The paper reported on a live theater event staged at the famous Berliner Ensemble that performed what is known about the secret meeting and its fascistic plans. At the end of the piece, as reported by The Guardian, one of the actors spoke: This is “a story that shows that there are many of us, that we can raise our voice and that we won’t allow our society to be destroyed.”
Think on that: there are many of us, we can raise our voice, and we won’t allow our society to be destroyed. To my mind, this is what all Americans need to realize, and we need to start speaking and acting in affirmation of our conviction that we will not allow neo-fascist authoritarians to destroy our society. We are many. We can raise our voices. And we should listen to and learn from those who have already been raising their voices and speaking out for justice and for the values we share. With right-wing authoritarian ideas rapidly concentrating in the MAGA movement and taking national prominence, this is no time to quibble over our differences, even where these are real and sincere. Everyone who stands for a free society and a democratic political system can work together on the fundamental point: “we won’t let our society be destroyed” until that threat has been stilled.
* This is my first contribution to DK, so apologies in advance for any gaffes.
