Why I reject Fascism
The Libertarian to Alt Right pipeline is real enough. Disaffected Libertarians, sick of the excesses of the Left, flirt with those who genuinely support authoritarian dictatorship. They do this just to have a cudgel with which to strike back. Just by virtue of being right wing, I have to swim in the same circles as Rhinos, Evangelical Conservatives, Traditional Conservatives, and Neoconservatives, which is already a philosophical challenge. So when somebody says,
“I think we need to band together to smash Communism,”
My instincts say,
“Sure! Let’s go!”
But my spidey sense is triggered.
If I have to explain the evils of Communism, you’re on the wrong page. Also, if you want to get into the flaws of Marxist theory, we can do that another day. Fascism, on the other hand, has been so much easier to disparage and dismiss…historically. Its modern proponents are much trickier to deal with. First, I think we need to nail down some factions and verbiage, and be specific.
Fascism is a political philosophy that sees the nation, or an ethnicity, bind together, and subordinate themselves to the collective. This differs from Communism in that Communism at least pretends to be for the people. Even if Communism devolves into strongman dictatorships, it at least says it is not supposed to. Fascism, on the other hand, worships unity and strength.
The Alt Right has been used as a blanket term to refer to right wing individuals outside of the Republican mainstream. It has become a pejorative over time as a significant portion of its members have been revealed to be white nationalists and supremacists. But this blanket term has been applied to Libertarians, Three Percenters, The Proud Boys, and actual white nationalists/supremacists. So before continuing, I’d like to nail down these groups and their beliefs.
Libertarians believe that men and women are at their best, when they are left alone. Libertarians believe the government should be small, efficient, and be assigned extremely narrow and limited roles. The United States was founded with mostly Libertarian concepts in mind, and has far outgrown its charter. Libertarians are as antithetical to Fascists as Liberals are.
Three Percenters are not fascist. They are a militia group inspired by the revolutionaries of the American Civil War. They believe in Libertarian principles, but add in the fact that they will fight and die to maintain the Republic. They draw their name from the rumor that only three percent of the original colonists fought for American independence from the British. These are very often the heavily armed militia members standing watch over right wing/Free Speech demonstrations. And so it is with a little bit of confusion, that I listen to Liberal fear over the “armed zealots,” standing watch over these rallies. The Three Percenters are not some bloodthirsty band of ethno-supremacists, but rather men and women who fiercely believe in the founding principles of the United States.
The Proud Boys are Western chauvinists and therefore could be described as Fascistic. They believe there are core beliefs of “True Westerners,” that should be subscribed to by everyone. They believe that men of a similar disposition have to band together, support each other, and physically fight Communist antagonists. That being said, what makes someone “Western,” often includes concepts that would be outright denied by a Fascist state. The Proud Boys are multi-ethnic, and are often comprised of military veterans who learned to ignore skin color over beliefs. Freedom of Speech, a hallmark of “Western” culture, is worshiped by The Proud Boys, but unlikely to survive in a truly Fascist nation. So when Proud Boys demonstrate alongside the true Alt Right, they blur their own beliefs, forcing their own association with white supremacy.
While many people have been thrown under the umbrella term “Alt Right,” I believe it is best reserved for true ethno-nationalists and supremacists. These men and women would be more likely to actually support a Fascist state, as they see ethnicity, culture, and nationhood, as inseparable concepts. They often use the conflicts and confusion of multicultural societies as evidence for why an ethno-state is superior, and why civic nationalism is a fantasy. They also point to the successful ethno-states like Israel and Japan, and wonder aloud,
“Why is the white race not permitted its own independent, and sovereign nation?”
While this question can sound innocent, it is often just a packaged and sanitized response for “Normies.” Once you scratch past the surface of platitudes, it becomes a weird mix of holocaust denial, anti-semitism, anti-globalism, anti-Christianity (since it is a ‘slave morality’), scientific racism, crime statistics, demographic studies, and twitter snapshots of extreme Leftists. The jist of their fear is that our power structures are making the nuclear white family difficult to attain, while bringing in an unlimited wave of immigrants, who hold values contrary and threatening to our own. Some of the analyses of societal issues are disturbing enough, but pale in comparison to the solution. In order: a militarized border, a halt to non white immigration, segregation from other ethnicities, deportation of non whites, governmental structures that support traditional conservative values, and a cultural emphasis on the nuclear family and procreation. Questions about forced deportation and genocide are dismissed, while dog whistles and holocaust denial jokes are exchanged in the background.
And this is the threat I want to address most. If you look at America’s founding documents, I believe them to be the ultimate extension of “Western” thought. Nestled in Judeo-Christian thinking, refined by the enlightenment, the phrase,
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Now you don’t have to believe these words, but I, and many Americans do. They are universal principles, that if adhered to, would result in lasting human peace. If I am free to pursue my happiness, as long as it doesn’t impede yours, and you are free to pursue your happiness, as long as it doesn’t impede mine, I cannot think of a better society. White, Hispanic, Black, Asian, Straight, Gay, Pan, Trans, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, it doesn’t matter. We are all children of God, afforded the same rights, and gifted the responsibility of maintaining a free nation.
And while in the history of white Christian America, we have denied these rights to our fellow citizens, that didn’t make this ideal any less correct. This ideal doesn’t justify the slavery, racism, bigotry, persecution, and hatred of our forefathers, but rather challenges it. The extension of “all men” to “all mankind” has only solidified its importance and impact. While American minorities and women can critique the culture and history from which they were born, they were in fact liberated from authoritarianism, by this founding concept.
When looking into history, a common thread is identifiable in human butchery: collectivism and authoritarianism. First people gather themselves into a group, and then they say that we are right, and others are wrong. They then use this pretext to kill and dispossess those outside the group.
Greeks conquered the world because the world was filled with barbarians.
Romans conquered the world because the world was filled with the weak.
Islam conquered the world because the world was filled with disbelievers.
Christianity conquered the world because the world was filled with heretics and pagans.
Colonists conquered America because it was filled with savages.
Fascist Germans conquered Europe because the rest of the world was inferior to the Aryan.
Russian and Chinese Communists purged their nations because they were filled with exploitative Capitalists and their enablers.
Mass human slaughter is only justifiable when you say,
“This group of people, are all guilty of the same sin, and therefore must be conquered, killed, or subjugated.”
Liberty and individualism, however, have offered a way out. When you walk into a room, regardless of the race, gender, national origin, religion, or language of another human being, you treat them as an individual first. If that person and you disagree or differ, it is not a problem, as long as you do not harm them, and they do not harm you. By adhering to these principles of liberty, tolerance, and difference, we join a new tribe, the American tribe.
Tribalism is a human instinct we have not moved passed, and it will take centuries of determination to modify. It should alarm any freedom loving soul, that our leaders and youth are now playing with ideologies that not only have the variables of collectivism and authoritarianism in them, but ideologies that embrace these murderous traits.
As much of a paradox as it is, if you are Liberal, I ask that you be militant about your love for Liberty, and fight for it. If you are a Libertarian, I ask that you be militant about your love for Liberty, and fight for it. I ask you to train yourself, and your sons and daughters, and their sons and daughters, to fight for freedom both with their words and their actions.
It is the only way we will survive these 21st Century siren songs of slaughter.
