Monday, November 5, 2018

Pounding Earworms, Part 2 [FASCISM]



        As a society we’ve been conditioned for quick gratification and sound bites. Digging deeper requires effort. Reading requires effort. At approximately 100 words I will have lost 50 % of the average American that voluntarily decided to read this. By 600 words 75% will have thrown in the towel. Back in the day when I campaigned for office with words written on paper, a.k.a. pamphlets, door knockers, cards, etc. the statistic was that the handout would last long enough to make it to the first trash the person passed unless the person that had it in their hand was a litterer. (I just made up that part about littering.)
        So here we go. (113 words.) If you want to know what’s going on and do something about it you’re going to have to start reading more than a 100 words or watch something for more than 5 minutes. Getting involved is going to involve a lot more paying attention.
        When I was stationed in Germany back in 1970 there was a pirate radio station playing in another guy’s area. Over and over again some guy was saying “Kill the white man! Kill the white man! We must rise up and kill the white man! Kill the white man!” I was writing letters home at the time and no one else was in the room for me to holler at “Turn that crap off!” So I just kept writing. After a while I found myself thinking that, “yes we must kill the white man.” That’s when I decided enough of that, got up off my butt and went and turned the radio down. Not being mentally disturbed, I never acted on killing the white man.
        I probably didn’t listen to that for more than an hour and it was just background noise to what I was doing and then that earworm crept into my thoughts. The Leader pounds out his message every day. Usually I try and avoid saying “every” or “all” this or that but he manages to do it every day. He’s been at the helm of the hate message for three years now and people are starting to act on it.
        Hate the immigrants! Shoot the immigrants! The press is the enemy of the people, rich Jews are behind it, etc. Every chance he gets. Pounding the message. Pounding the message.
When everything old is new again
        Fascism is on the rise. And it isn’t on the rise just here in the United States. It’s on the rise in Europe. It’s on the rise in South America. In Italy they’re giving stiff armed salutes again. Well…Italy. Home to Benito Mussolini, a.k.a. Il Duce (the leader). The pictures are on the internet if you want to see them. Crap, stiff armed salutes are being given in this country. Some of the same people that are involved with the White Nationalist agenda here, like Bannon, are also involved abroad and vice versa. The internet takes Fascists worldwide.
        The last time that Fascists had to be dealt with on a World Wide scale millions of lives were lost. We’re heading there again.
        American lives were lost for those that have a narrow view of ‘what lives’ matter. My dad was a part of the 6th Armored Antifa Division. He was in the Battle of the Bulge and received a bronze star. Some of us feel a little stronger about Fascists, Nazis and White Nationalists, et al than others. This war was already fought once. Now they’re back claiming their rights.
        This time around they believe that President Trump and the leadership of the Republican Party have signed onto their agenda. They have good reason to believe that, given The Leader’s rhetoric and actions. So it’s as much a case of whether you believe that we’re headed as a nation towards fascism or are we headed in a good direction if White Nationalists, et al like where we’re headed. (657)
        Seriously, an actual Nazi won a Republican primary in Illinois and is on the ballot. The Republican leadership there opined that it was the media’s fault. Ah yes, the enemy-of-the-people-media made it happen. Cray.
        A free press stands in their way along with anti-fascists and others. If you oppose the White Nationalists, et al agenda then you oppose them. Ultimately even the people that want to just be left alone get involved whether it’s voluntary or as victims.
        Their Leader is still at it. President Trump tweeted a very nice statement about visiting the Tree of Life synagogue right up until the point where President Trump does what he does.
“Melania and I were treated very nicely yesterday in Pittsburg. The Office of the President was shown great respect on a very sad & solemn day. We were treated so warmly. Small protest was not seen by us, staged far away. The Fake News stories were just the opposite-Disgraceful!”
        For all intents and purposes President Trump was interrupting a funeral service (Shiva) when he went to The Tree of Life synagogue. The Secret Service locked down the neighborhood as best they could for security concerns. The Leader just can’t help himself. He’s the man with the bully platform. He was going to show up and nobody was going to stop him.
        The protestors were right outside. He was being shouted at by neighbors to the Tree of Life synagogue. There were signs across the street and media was there as well. They showed video of the solemn event. They also showed the protestors. That’s what media does. It’s what they’ve always done. They report what’s going on. That’s unacceptable to The Leader and his True Believers. He could have stopped with “We were treated so warmly.” He didn’t. (706 words.)
Where we’re at.
        President Trump is not just the President of the United States. He is also the head of the Republican Party. He is also The Leader of the Evangelical Party.
        Now, I’m not really going to try and make the case for why we’re headed towards fascism. You can look up fascism and reach your own conclusions. Trump supporters will see us going to a happy place. Others will reach different conclusions. You decide if we’re headed for a better place. Here’s where we’re at.  
        The Leader says that citizens should not be critical of the state. Only positive comments should be allowed.
        President Trump is going to continue going to hold rallies to spread his message! The Leader is running for President. His True Believers love him. He basks in their adoration. He needs their adoration. He needs supplicants. When I watch one of his rallies I watch the whole thing. If you’ve seen one you’ve pretty much seen them all. He pounds the same message over and over. The names of the supplicants change depending upon the venue. They come for the blessing of The Leader.
        The Leader says that he’s the best that has ever been as well as his administration in the history of our nation. Everything that has been done is the best that has ever been done. He should have the Nobel Prize for what he hasn’t accomplished. Yet somehow as good as things are we are on the brink of disaster that only he can save us from! Mind you for 2 years Republicans have been in complete control of our government. But, in spite of everything we are still on the brink of disaster, of chaos. While some would call this campaign hyperbole his True Believers believe this. COMPLETELY. This isn’t just politics as usual. True Believers take his dark words to heart.
        The Army called out for civilian enforcement. We are being invaded by 6,000 brown people walking to our southern border with Mexico and he is sending in the Army. If they throw rocks he wants soldiers to return fire. That’s right. The Commander in Chief is ordering soldiers to fire on unarmed civilians. (Meanwhile 300,000 people a day are crossing at our border with Canada.)
        The country and police forces are being militarized. (1344)
        Under the direction of The Leader, families are being separated and incarcerated. Children are being separated from their parents. They are brown.
        Muslims are banned. (At least from ones that The Leader doesn’t have business interests in.)
        Jews are being targeted again. (It’s a White Nationalist, et al kind of thing.)
        LGBTQ citizens are being attacked. (BTW the love the sinner hate the sin isn’t flying. Its bullshit and people know it.)
        At the direction of the leader, brown people that have already been naturalized will be having their citizenship revoked if possible.
        The President is talking about invalidating the 14th Amendment that provides for citizenship for babies born here. He says that he has the authority to do so regardless of the Constitution. The Constitution is what he says it is.
        The Leader continually says that news uncomplimentary to him is fake. If he can undermine the 14th Amendment with the stroke of a pen what will he do with the 1st Amendment protection of the free press? He should get that pen out again and order than no one can say anything bad about him.
        Defend The Leader. The Leader now calls himself a Nationalist as he lays the groundwork for civil war.
        Surveillance of everything we say and do was already in place along with secret courts for enemies of the state. How long before journalists start disappearing.
        The religious right is supporting the leader.
        The Leader is also calling opposition to Republicans in other states criminals.
        Constitutional checks and balances are not working.   
It’s going to get worse before it gets better.
        In regards to the “blue wave” every vote does matter.
        It’s just that in the polls the races are tight often with the Democrat closing the gap from BEHIND and still behind though within the margin of error. At least the Electoral College isn’t involved. The Senate likely will remain in control of the Party of The Leader. The Supreme Court is also beholden to The Leader just like the courts of the Middle East.
        Say everything in the election goes perfectly and everything falls into place and the Democrats gain both houses. Things still aren’t going to change overnight. There’s still The President and veto power.
        The damage done on the world stage is not going to be quickly undone. World leaders have now observed firsthand how quickly treaties can be undone and that the Republican Party with The Leader at the head prefers Russians and the North Koreans. The President admires their leaders along with those of the Chinese government. They have the model of government that he likes where The Leader has the absolute power, where dissent is crushed and opposition is not allowed.
        The trillion dollar plus that The Leader gave to rich people is NOT coming back. That’s unfunded deficit.
        The trade war that The Leader started will have impacts that will last years past its resolution. (Seriously, He inherited a good economy. All he had to do was leave it alone. Instead he started a trade war!) Small farms will go under during this trade war. Corporate or large farming enterprises will gain their land since their deeper pockets will better allow them to whether the storm.
        If the Democratic Party wins they will probably screw it up. (It’s hard to believe that Nancy Pelosi is still in charge of the House.) The Democratic Party needs to be completely restructured and if they undertake that it will take years.
What to do? What to do?
        Vote by all means! Just don’t harbor unrealistic expectations. We have to get over the idea of waiting for an election cycle to do something.
        Doing something in the physical world, like voting, also requires effort. Show up in person to talk with an elected official. Make them see you.
        Do not enable violence.
        At some point churches will have to get involved. They waited until it was too late in axis countries during WW2 and some ended up losing their lives over it.
        Call racists out! Call liars out. Call misogyny out. Call bigotry out! Call discrimination out! Shine the light on injustice! Stand up for your fellow human beings.
        Be more aware in social media. Stop passing around stupid memes without checking them out simply because you like the message. We need the truth. Truth is power.
        Support a free press. The real press. Press that has workers and newsrooms. Press that is more than an instrument of the state. The First Amendment is as important as the Second Amendment.
        It’s easier to stop a despot in the beginning than at the end AND their reign always ends. History measures the damage and suffering caused.
        Meet with people and decide how you can make a difference; where you can make a difference.
        There isn’t any one answer. There aren’t any easy answers. There are a thousand answers. There are ten thousand answers. Be one of them.
        But most of all…
        Be heard.