Personal observations on modern fascist tendencies
“Fascism is not an ideology; it is a process for taking power. It’s a process of a demagogic leader identifying himself — by the way, they’re all ‘himselves’ — with one group at the expense of another which is then made kind of the victim of it or the responsible power.” — Madelaine Albright
Even as a child, dystopia was more than just a film or literary genre for me. It was a recurring dreamscape. A nightmare. A shadow world that visited me in sleep, leaving me with a lingering sense of unease that colored my waking hours.
In these dreams, I wandered through cities choked with smog. Where the sun was a dim memory and the streets flooded with an unnatural regularity. I saw fields turned to dust, forests reduced to ash, and wildlife vanish. People moved through it all with a resigned acceptance that chilled me more than any apocalyptic landscape.
I never thought I’d see those dreams bleed into reality.
The Creep of Authoritarianism
The slow, insidious creep of authoritarianism that I’d only read about in history books is now unfolding before my eyes — in news headlines and social media feeds. As a student of fascist history, the parallels are fascinating and very terrifying.
Media Manipulation
I watched a news clip of a political rally where the speaker whipped the crowd into a frenzy, chanting slogans against the free press. “Enemy of the people,” they called journalists. That’s my world they are vilifying with a lie. A lie repeated again and again. “The Fake News is the enemy of the people!” said eldest son, attacking the recent debate moderators. The more a lie is repeated, the more it is believed.
My mind flashed to 1933 Germany, where Nazi propagandists used the term “Lügenpresse” (lying press) to discredit any media that criticized them. The erosion of trust in independent media is a classic fascist tactic. One that’s alarmingly prevalent today.
“In 2017, the use of the term ‘fake news’ rose by 365% on social media, and the term was named the word of the year by dictionary publisher Collins.” — Visual Capitalist
According to the recent Visual Capitalist report, only 11% of Republicans trust the news media, a figure that has been steadily declining over the past decade. Republican propaganda erodes the trust in media. Then this distrust creates fertile ground for the spread of more misinformation and propaganda.
State Power and Intimidation
Driving into town, I pass a government building where protesters often gather. Recently, I’ve noticed an increased police presence, with officers in riot gear even on days when the protests are peaceful. It reminds me of Mussolini’s Italy, where the display of state power was a constant, intimidating presence in public spaces. The militarization of police forces and their use against civilians exercising their right to protest is a red flag that’s impossible to ignore.
“War is to man what maternity is to a woman. From a philosophical and doctrinal viewpoint, I do not believe in perpetual peace.” — Benito Mussolini
There is talk of designating sheriffs to be the ultimate national authority in the US. To interpret the Constitution in a way that best serves their agenda.
“During 2023, constitutional sheriffs have shown their abject disrespect for the rule of law.
“These sheriffs are under the false impression that their role as sheriffs allows them to circumvent the structure of checks and balances put in place by the Constitution and usurp the job of the Supreme Court by making their own determination as to whether a law is constitutional.” — SPL Center
The militarization of police forces and their use against civilians exercising their right to protest is another red flag that’s impossible to ignore. A 2020 study by the U.S. Crisis Monitor found that authorities used force in about 10% of Black Lives Matter protests, compared to only 4% of right-wing demonstrations, highlighting a concerning disparity in the application of state power.
“State and conservative civilian violence against BLM protestors represents an ongoing threat to the right to organize and publicly dissent. The use of force manifested by police and right-wing groups against BLM protestors resulted in significant injury and mortality.”
“While police frequently use chemical irritants and projectiles, right-wing protestors often use car ramming to bluntly injure protestors.” — National Institute of Health
Voter Suppression
In a recent local election, I heard reports of voter intimidation at polling stations. Armed individuals, claiming to be “poll watchers,” stood menacingly near the entrances. It’s a scene straight out of the Jim Crow South, but it’s happening now, in 2024.
The suppression of voting rights, particularly targeting minority communities, is a hallmark of fascist regimes seeking to consolidate power. I have friends canvassing for the election all over the country. They tell me many they talk to have been inexplicably removed from the voter registration roll, particularly in areas with high concentrations of minority and blue voters.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, as of January 25, 2023, state lawmakers in at least 32 states pre-filed or introduced 150 restrictive voting bills. Legislation is categorized as restrictive if it contains one or more provisions that would make it harder for eligible Americans to register, stay on the voter rolls, or vote as compared to existing state law
Online, I’ve observed the proliferation of conspiracy theories and misinformation. What’s most disturbing is seeing elected officials amplify these baseless claims. It harkens back to the “Big Lie”— a propaganda technique involving gross distortions of truth used by fascist regimes of the past.
The Big Lie was first described by Adolf Hitler in Mein Kampf (1925) to explain how people could be induced to believe extreme lies. The Nazis, particularly through Joseph Goebbels, turned sentiment against Jews by using big lies to justify the Holocaust.
Today, we see this playing out in real time on social media platforms such as Truth Social.
But the scary thing is—people know it’s a lie and ‘believe’ it anyway. It’s a convenient lie.
Survey reveals: Americans most skeptical of media objectivity are ironically the largest sources of false information.
Even scarier—folks ‘believe’ it because it echoes their deep-seated beliefs. Racism—Homophobia—Misogyny—Xenophobia …
Trump’s Personality Cult Plays a Part in His Political Appeal
Personality measures suggest Donald Trump exerts a cult of personality over his followers, people who are psychologically susceptible to his appeal. Explanations for his popularity focus on factors like white identity, right-wing authoritarianism, nationalism, and populism.
What is the Cult of Personality?
The Cult of Personality is by far the biggest threat to Democracy. It calls for loyalty to a single leader or party above all else. Above Rule of Law. Above Democracy. Above the needs of the people. I’ve heard politicians demand allegiance not to the constitution or the country — but to themselves personally. This cult of personality was a defining feature of fascist regimes like Nazi Germany, Stalin’s Russia or Mussolini’s Italy, where the leader was elevated to an almost godlike status.
These fascist leaders strategically merchandised their images and slogans, plastering them across everyday items. This tactic normalized their presence in daily life, blurring lines between political devotion and consumerism.
By turning their personas into common products, they created a pervasive cult of personality—making their ideologies seem as essential as household staples. This approach generated revenue and embedded their presence deep within society.
“Personality cults are commonly associated with authoritarian systems, where a strong leader sits atop a regime with strict control of public information.” — Scientific American
Economic Populism and Scapegoating
Economic inequality has been growing for years. Recently, I’ve noticed a shift in rhetoric. Politicians increasingly scapegoat immigrants and minorities for economic woes, promising to restore greatness by removing these “undesirable” elements through mass deportation and incarceration. This us-vs-them narrative is eerily reminiscent of the economic populism that fascist leaders like Hitler and Mussolini used to rise to power.
“We’re going to have the largest deportation,” Trump said at a June campaign rally in Racine, Wisconsin. “We have no choice.”
The crowd responded with a chant: “Send them back. Send them back. Send them back.” — Washington State Standard
According to the Economic Policy Institute, the top 1% of earners in the U.S. saw their wages grow by 160.3% between 1979 and 2019, while wages for the bottom 90% grew by only 26.0% in the same period.
This stark inequality provides fertile ground for present-day demagogues to exploit, just as fascist leaders did in the past.
Wages for the top 1% skyrocketed 160% since 1979 while the share of wages for the bottom 90% shrunk.
Controlling Education and Historical Narratives
In schools, there’s a growing movement to censor books and rewrite curricula to present a sanitized version of history. It reminds me of Franco’s Spain, where education was tightly controlled to indoctrinate youth with the regime’s ideology. The attempt to control information and shape historical narratives is a critical step in fascist takeovers.
The American Library Association reported 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022. A record 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship, a 38% increase from the 1,858 unique titles targeted for censorship in 2021. Of those titles, the vast majority were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community and people of color. — American Library Association
Of the reported book challenges, 58% targeted books and materials in school libraries, classroom libraries or school curricula; 41% of book challenges targeted materials in public libraries. This represents the highest number of attempted book bans since the ALA began compiling this data 20 years ago.
Project 2025 seeks to significantly limit and restructure federal involvement in education in several key ways.
The document calls for school choice and parental control over schools, and takes aim at what it calls “woke propaganda”.
It proposes to eliminate a long list of terms from all laws and federal regulations, including “sexual orientation”, “gender equality”, “abortion” and “reproductive rights.”
Project 2025 aims to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools and government departments as part of what it describes as a wider crackdown on “woke” ideology.
Project 2025 is a blueprint for dystopia. For Trump to say he is not behind it is a Big Lie. The United States would be enacting a real-world version of The Handmaid’s Tale.
“Project 2025 is among the most profound threats to the American people.” — Democracy Forward
Republicans are crusading against ‘woke’
“Yet lawmakers and operatives who spoke to NBC News varied in how they define the idea, while others said they didn’t know much about “wokeness” at all.
Former President Donald Trump stated in 2021 that the Biden administration was “destroying” the country “with woke.” — NBC
The truth doesn’t really seem to matter.
Woke: aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice) — Merriam Webster
Echoes of the Past
The parallels don’t end there. The demonization of LGBTQ+ communities echoes the persecution of “degenerates” in Nazi Germany. The calls for extreme nationalism and isolation from global alliances mirror the autarkic (self-sufficient, economically independent, not relying on external trade or resources) policies of fascist Italy. The attempts to delegitimize election results bring to mind the Nazis’ response to their electoral defeats in the early 1930s.
Section 175 — Homosexual — Nazi Persecution
At the Crossroads of Democracy
The next general election will define our future. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the future of our democracy hangs in the balance. It’s not about choosing a candidate or a party. It’s about choosing between democracy and its adversary. I find most Democrats I speak with are naive at best, “If people just knew the truth about Trump they wouldn’t vote for him.”
It’s not about the truth.
Does history repeat itself? The echoes of past fascist regimes in today’s political landscape are unmistakable. But history also teaches us that fascism can be resisted — that it can be defeated. The choice is ours. The work is for us to do.
As for me, I choose to heed the warnings of history. The rule of law is fundamental to democracy. Our actions today will shape the world we live in tomorrow. I choose democracy, not dystopia.
“A Fascist is someone who claims to speak for a whole nation or group, is utterly unconcerned with the rights of others, and is willing to use violence and whatever other means are necessary to achieve the goals he or she might have.” Madeleine Albright on YouTube
Comments