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A Moment of Truth

  
By:  Bob Nelson  •  3 years ago  •  19 comments


A Moment of Truth



January Sixth, and now the impeachment trial, have put us all before a simple choice: to support democracy or to support Donald Trump

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The United States of America has gifted human history with two novel ideas: "inalienable rights" and "equality of opportunity". Neither has been perfectly applied in the United States, but both have been national ideals.

A third ideal, inherited from the British, has been equally foundational: "rule of law".

We have just lived through the Presidency of a man who disrespected and disregarded all three. That Presidency ended with a blatant attempt to overthrow all three of these principles... permanently.

We, as Americans, are faced with a simple choice: democracy (under those three principles) or fascism (without them).

One of the nation's two major parties has clearly thrown itself into fascism, having proven that from now on, if they ever gain power, they do not intend to relinquish it. 

We need to hold ourselves... and each other ... up to the light. A democrat is a democrat. A fascist is a fascist.

Someone who believes in democracy will never have any difficulty saying:

I believe in democracy:

I believe it inalienable rights.

I believe in equality of opportunity.

I believe in the rule of law.

A fascist will have no problem saying these things, either... because a fascist cares nothing for the truth.

Look around you. You will recognize the fascists. They are the ones who do not condemn Donald Trump and the attempted insurrection of January Sixth, 2021


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Bob Nelson
Professor Guide
1  author  Bob Nelson    3 years ago

Are you a democrat or a fascist?

 
 
 
Bob Nelson
Professor Guide
2  author  Bob Nelson    3 years ago

I am a democrat. I believe in inalienable rights, in equality of opportunity, and in the rule of law.

 
 
 
Thomas
Senior Guide
3  Thomas    3 years ago

Seems like if this is so, "A fascist will have no problem saying these things, either... because a fascist cares nothing for the truth," we could put the Disclaimer on this article: The attitudes and opinions of members responding to this article are in no way to be considered factual or to represent reality in any way. 

Democrat or Fascist? Seems like a rather Dichotomous choice to me. The overriding theme of most fascist regimes (I think???) seems to be that the cult of personality that starts the fascism in the first place is there throughout the existence of the regime, of the fascism. When the person, the demagogue who originated the government, is no longer there, the fascist tendencies of the government cannot exist without continual buttressing by the demagogue. The end result is that the citizenry is left with a country that has been altered structurally to the point of governmental collapse. So the question should be not are you democrat or fascist, but are we still under the thrall of DJT to the point of being willing to let him back into any source of political power?

I really wish that we had a more direct form of democracy so that the people who we send to congress could not interpret our en-mass vote for them to mean carte-blanche permission to run some program through because "the people" want it.  It would also mean that Senators could be more informed about what their electorate feels about this mess going on in Washington, DC right now.

 
 
 
Bob Nelson
Professor Guide
3.1  author  Bob Nelson  replied to  Thomas @3    3 years ago
Democrat or Fascist? Seems like a rather Dichotomous choice to me.

I wrote a short article, among a series of short articles, a few days ago. You'll find them on the Group Page .

 
 
 
Thrawn 31
Professor Guide
3.2  Thrawn 31  replied to  Thomas @3    3 years ago
but are we still under the thrall of DJT to the point of being willing to let him back into any source of political power?

Unfortunately yes. He is the current front runner of one of the two political parties in America. 

 
 
 
JBB
Professor Principal
4  JBB    3 years ago

256

 
 
 
CB
Professor Principal
5  CB    3 years ago

I believe in democracy. I will not stand with Trump conservatives.

 
 
 
Thrawn 31
Professor Guide
6  Thrawn 31    3 years ago

And America failed lol.

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
7  Buzz of the Orient    3 years ago

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Hal A. Lujah
Professor Guide
8  Hal A. Lujah    3 years ago

I work from home, and I let the trial run on tv all day as background noise.  It was hard to listen to this defense team and imagine that a senate trial bears any resemblance to a criminal trial.  The fix was in from the beginning, and openly advertised throughout the process.  To think that a regular Joe lives under as is judged by an entirely different set of rules as the ruling elite is very disheartening.

 
 
 
Bob Nelson
Professor Guide
8.1  author  Bob Nelson  replied to  Hal A. Lujah @8    3 years ago

McConnell announced that he would vote to acquit... before arguments were made. 

Farce, thanks to the Republican American Fascist Party.

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
9  JohnRussell    3 years ago

I don't think a lot of Republicans or Trumpsters are fascists although they may be along for the ride. They are in the Trump cult, either willingly (most of them) or for political purposes.

Trumpism is based on white grievance. A clear and straight line can be drawn from Trump's initial foray into Republican politics (his birtherism) to his later success getting aggrieved white people to stand by him no matter what. So many of his key ideas , the wall, kids in cages, travel ban, dogwhistle support for white nationalists (charlottesville, proud boys, etc) were meant to keep the aggrieved white base by his side. 

Why are white people aggrieved? They sense that this is no longer "their" country, where they were the norm and the rest were "the other". This sense can even be beneath full consciousness.  It started full flight when Obama ran for and was elected president. It slowly dawned on countless whites that America would never be "their" country again. Trump and trumpism is the downstream effect of that realization.

So I dont think the emphasis is really on fascism, but that may be an effect. 

 
 
 
Hal A. Lujah
Professor Guide
9.1  Hal A. Lujah  replied to  JohnRussell @9    3 years ago

384

 
 
 
Bob Nelson
Professor Guide
9.2  author  Bob Nelson  replied to  JohnRussell @9    3 years ago

It sounds like you haven't yet absorbed the nature of ''fascism''. In such a movement, there may be a few genuine believers - people who really think both that dictatorship is the best form of government, and that all of the nation's problems are due to ''those people''. But I doubt that there are very many.

There are lots of people who are, psychologically speaking, happy to not make any decisions... to let someone else decide for them. These are easy prey for authoritarianism, and are probably the bulk of TrumpTrueBelievers. Their cult-ish intense need to be in agreement with their neighbors is a symptom. 

Add the racists, happy with any justification, and you have Trump's  Republican American Fascist Party.

And of course, the leaders (including THE LEADER) are cynical grifters.

If you look into the history of fascist movements, you'll find that they have all been on this model. (Well... maybe Hitler drank a little too much of his own kool aid...)

Franco's regime lasted forty years. He was smart enough not to join the Axis, and sailed smoothly on.

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
9.2.1  JohnRussell  replied to  Bob Nelson @9.2    3 years ago

I dont disagree with you but I would rather emphasize the racism part of Trumpism than the fascism part.  I think a fascist national leadership would meet great overall resistance, but racism is so ingrained in America's very existence that is more insidious and harder to get free of. 

 
 
 
Bob Nelson
Professor Guide
9.2.2  author  Bob Nelson  replied to  JohnRussell @9.2.1    3 years ago

Rascism is an integral part of fascism. They are indissociable.

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
9.2.3  JohnRussell  replied to  Bob Nelson @9.2.2    3 years ago

ok. 

 
 
 
Bob Nelson
Professor Guide
9.2.4  author  Bob Nelson  replied to  JohnRussell @9.2.1    3 years ago
 I think a fascist national leadership would meet great overall resistance

Of course. ''Fascism'' kinda got a bad name last century. Trump and the others will never call themselves ''fascist'', but that is what they are.

We must make Americans see that Trump is what America fought in WWII. 

 
 
 
Bob Nelson
Professor Guide
9.3  author  Bob Nelson  replied to  JohnRussell @9    3 years ago
Why are white people aggrieved? 

You're spot on, here.

''Blaming 'the other''' is a key element in fascism. America promises success to all, so most Americans look at their lives and see less than America promised. Someone is to blame! It isn't them, because they're Americans, to whom America promised success!

It's them! They are guilty for my not being rich.

 
 

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