Fascism: the most abused term in America
A timely article from the Spectator. We see its extreme misuse here on tPF.
Note this is socialist as the state owning the means of production and land. Not socialism as heavy welfare programs.I doubt there has ever been a time when fewer actual fascists and actual socialists existed than today
[QUOTE]If you’ve followed the debate generated after Donald Trump’s remarks a week ago concerning American history, you would be forgiven for thinking that the scene Haffner describes above is about to unfold all over again. In classrooms, seminars, and staff meeting rooms across 50 states — a commotion. Elbowing their way into the schools: Boogaloo enthusiasts, Bikers for Trump, Proud Boys, militia members, all the other outriders of white supremacism, colonialism, imperialism, capitalism and sexism. Their mission: to enforce a fascist-friendly narrative of American history.
‘Trump has announced,’ wrote Arwa Mahdawi in the Guardian last week, ‘a “national commission to support patriotic education” — in other words, a racist propaganda program.’ She goes on:
‘If he gets another term there are no limits to what he might do; hello, re-education camps, goodbye reproductive rights! And that, ultimately, is what his speech on Thursday was about; it wasn’t so much about American history as it was about America’s future. It was a promise to his base that he will Make America White Again.’
Personally, whenever I read a column like this — an almost daily occurrence for five years now — I do wonder (I worry) if the author is, well, OK? Are you OK Arwa? Do you need a Xanax, maybe a diazepam?[/QUOTE]
lol- me too!
Read the entire article at the link. I skipped the intro.Trump’s speech last week was presidential boilerplate, with a side of red meat for his base. He praised the Founders and the Constitution; he attacked critical race theory and the 1619 Project. There are long-standing precedents for the ‘1776 Commission’ on education that he announced.As far as I can tell — unless I am missing a form of dog-whistling so advanced that only super-duper fascist dogs can hear it — he outlined no plans for ‘re-education camps’.
(Trump, at this late stage, might say he enjoys eating cereal for breakfast. The next day there would be a 40,000-word investigation in the New Yorker about the Hitlerian origins of Froot Loops.)
Nevertheless, as soon as Trump made this speech, ‘Hitler Youth’ began trending on Twitter. So frequently does ‘Hitler’ or ‘Nazi’ trend there, that you would be forgiven for thinking that the war never ended. Hitler is still shivering in his bunker, commanding increasingly imaginary divisions; the Red Army is sweeping towards Berlin; Churchill is drinking brandy in the bathtub. Lo fascism trends: what’s happened this time, you think. Has Don Jr invaded Poland? Has Stephen Miller converted to ‘World Ice Theory’?
If Donald Trump is a fascist, then he is even more incompetent than the pathetic clowns and shifty gangsters who hawked it in Europe last time around. You don’t need to invoke fascism to criticize this president. The ineptitude, chicanery and silliness have been there all along. Naming Trump fascist-in-chief is about as rhetorically effective as naming Joe Biden — ancient middle-of-the-road corporate cornball Joe — a socialist. It appeals exclusively to sad partisans with no attachment to reality whatsoever.
‘Fascism’ and ‘socialism’, I doubt I’m the first to point out, are easily the most abused terms in contemporary political debate. They roam absurdly and transhistorically through every avenue of public discourse, bringing nobody closer to understanding anything at all. I doubt there has ever been a time when fewer actual fascists and actual socialists existed than today.