Adam,
Thank you for this timely article. People need to face reality and get out of their comfort (privileged) zones. I have read this book and it shook me. It shook me because of how similar Nazi Germany was in the 1930’s to how the U.S. is today. “Make Germany Whole Again”, “Make America Great Again”. (By the way, America was never great. Ask the slaves, ask the indegenious peoples,…)
I gave a presentation at a UConn philosophy group on 02/22/2018, over 8 months ago, and what I presented then holds even more true today (here are a few of the many points made comparing Nazi Germany and the U.S.):
People say, “America is not fascist yet, that we can’t compare the U.S. today to Nazi Germany, that the situation is not yet like Nazi Germany”. BUT THAT IS THE POINT: The “Final Solution” was NOT in 1933, it was in 1942. FASCISM DEVELOPS IN STAGES. We cannot wait until fascism is in total control here in the U.S. We cannot wait until a modern day “Final Solution” becomes reality whether it is against a particular group of people or through nuclear war.
Theodor Heuss, a key leader of the liberal German Democratic Party (DDP), later renamed the German State Party (DStP), worked with, went along with — even if “begrudgingly”, conciliated to, and normalized the Nazi party both before and after Hitler was appointed chancellor. On March, 23, 1933, along with his fellow parliamentarians, Heuss voted in favor of the Enabling Act granting Chancellor Adolf Hitler dictatorial powers.
Today, we see the same motions by the “liberal” Democratic party.
We see the collaboration and normalization of fascism by the leadership of the Democratic Party. Shortly after the elections, Obama said of Trump, “We are on the same team”. Soon after, Senator Bernie Sanders said, “I and other progressives are prepared to work with him”. When Trump bombed Syria, Senator Elizabeth Warren did not denounce this as a war crime against humanity, she pointed out that Trump did not ask permission from Congress. Pelosi and Schumer, leaders of the Democratic Party, have emphatically said impeachment is off the table. Senator Dick Durbin, who was at the meeting when Trump said his openly vile statement about “shithole countries”, did not get up and immediately walk out and publicly denounce this outrageously racist and xenophobic venom. Dick Durbin, the ‘champion of immigrant rights’, now says we have to conciliate and get citizenship for 1.8 million DACA “Dreamers”, while throwing away the lives of 9 million other immigrants. These are real people, and real families are being ripped apart! (Obviously, I wrote this before the separation of families and DACA essentially off the table.)
If you rely on and push for the elections in 2018 and 2020, you have to own the cost of the thousands of lives here in the U.S. and millions of lives worldwide that are every day being affected by waiting until then.You have to own that every day we wait, more Latino people are forced to live in the shadows, in the attics, as ICE raids target them at 7-Eleven or in sanctuary cities.You have to own that Muslims live in fear every day and are banned from coming into the U.S. You have to own the increasing destruction of the planet. You have to own everything encompassed in “Make America Great Again” until the elections. And even if the Democrats win a majority in 2018, what demonstrates that the Democrats will dismantle fascism? Not one of them has ever told the full truth and used the word fascism. [Added today: And, if the Democrats did call the Trump/Pence regime fascist — it’s acceptable to say constitutional crisis, but not fascism — what is their plan to drive this fascist regime out as soon as possible?]
People need to understand and act on the implications of all this taken as a whole. We must stop this fascist regime before it is too late.
My email is scott.gilbert.pa@gmail.com
I would love to communicate with you further on all this.
For a better world, scott gilbert
