Are You OK with Your Country Going Fascist? - By Lawrence Wittner

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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One gets the impression that the author is not being cynical, that he really believes this. Everything he writes is presented as common knowledge. But he doesn't tell us why or how. He makes dozens of accusations but never tells us where he finds his information. 

This article is nothing more than a litany of leftist talking points and bumper sticker slogans. He perfectly parrots this Narrative chapter and verse, without so much a blink of his blank, staring eyes. It's eerie regurgitation, facile to the point of robotic.

And he never defines fascism, nor does he offer a single example of something fascist.

We notice the author is a professor of history. That means this article, which in actual fact could have been written by a junior high student in study hall, is the product of higher learning and represents the current state of education. 

That is a truly scary thought.

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Recently, many opinion polls indicate that Donald Trump-- a convicted criminal, a pathological liar, and the latest in a long string of rightwing demagogues-- is likelier than not to be elected President of the United States.

I was born and raised during World War II, a time when fascist armies seemed on the verge of conquering the world, and perhaps this accounts for my feeling of alarm at the current revival of rightwing extremism in the United States and elsewhere. This alarm seems justified today not only because of the hate-filled rhetoric and program of the latest crop of would-be fuhrers, but because of their popularity. Indeed, their popular appeal is deeply disturbing and contrary to what many of us expected in the aftermath of the crushing defeat and discrediting of fascism in 1945. (The author finally ends this hyperbolic excursion into nonsense. He documents nothing. No specifics. No examples. 

Every word is nothing more than emotional manipulation, i.e., agitprop.)

So, as I contemplate the current political struggle over the future of the United States, I wonder about the apparent views of many of my fellow-Americans.

Do you really approve of Donald Trump's constant incitement of hatred, cruelty, and violence? (Hasn't happened. And, not fascist.)

Is his frequent spouting of racist slurs all right with you? (Hasn't happened. And, not fascist.)

Do you consider his plan to seize and deport between 15 million and 20 million immigrants acceptable? (Yes, quite acceptable. Oh, and notice the missing word "illegal." And, not fascist.)

Are restrictions on women's rights-- including the right to their bodily autonomy-- agreeable to you? (Yes. We oppose women murdering their unborn children. And, not fascist.)

Are you content with the growing interference with free elections, including legislation restricting the right to vote? (Hasn't happened.)

Are you ready to replace civil liberties and the rule of law with a police state? (Oh, you mean like Democrat governors locking down their states during COVID? Speech codes on college campuses? The deplatforming of people who disagree with leftist orthodoxy? The legal harassment of people who simply want to bake cakes, eat a quiet dinner in a restaurant, or not have their church services interrupted by a leftist slogan-spouting gunman? Sentencing grandmothers to years in prison for silently praying outside abortion clinics?)

 Do you really believe that the escalating climate catastrophe is a hoax and not worth addressing? (Yes. And, not fascist.)

Do you favor Project 2025's call for destruction of labor unions and workers' rights? (This is false. And, not fascist.)

Do you really want to provide the super-rich and their giant corporations with additional tax breaks? (Hasn't happened, won't happen. And, not fascist.)

Are you opposed to legislation to reduce the epidemic of gun violence in our schools and communities? (Let's correct the author's sentence: "Are you opposed to gun control legislation that has shown to be ineffective in curving  the epidemic of gun violence in our schools and communities?" So our answer is again yes. And, not fascist.)

Do you support massive cuts in federal funding for health, education, and welfare, including the abolition of the U.S. Department of Education? (Yes. Without question. And, not fascist.)

Are you content with vast increases in military spending? (Yes. And, not fascist.)

Are you indifferent to the plight of European democracies struggling to defend themselves against military conquest by Vladimir Putin's increasingly authoritarian Russia? (Yes. And, not fascist.)

Do you favor the continued slaughter of Palestinians  (Hasn't happened. And, not fascist.) 

and oppose a just settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? (A "just settlement?" No one opposes a "just settlement." What a dumb question. And, not fascist.)

Are you enthusiastic about scrapping nuclear arms control and disarmament treaties, (Bad treaties, yes. And, not fascist.)

threatening nuclear war, and preparing to wage it? (Hasn't happened. And, not fascist.)

I confess that it's tempting to say that, if you truly approve of these oppressive practices and policies, maybe you deserve to live with them and the violent rightwing dystopia they will bring.(Considering the violent, oppressive left wing utopia we actually have right now, yes, we choose the conservative version.)

But something within me-- some shred of hope, perhaps, about human nature-- says that maybe you're really not comfortable with them after all. (The author really believes all this crap. Amazing.)

And if you're not comfortable with them, then it's time to open your eyes, rouse yourselves from your stupor, and vote as if the future of the United States and the world depends on it. Because it does!

Lawrence S. Wittner (https://www.lawrenceswittner.com/ ) is Professor of History Emeritus at SUNY/Albany and the author of Confronting the Bomb (Stanford University Press).