Army Talk: Fascism

I really regret that I did not have more "Marine Talk" with my Daddy about his experiences in World War II. I could have made opportunities during my teen years and in my twenties and thirties; I didn't.

But in my preteen years when he was my scoutmaster as well as my Dad, when we were rising before dawn some days to get to Noontootly or Holly or Cartecay Creek to try and catch some trout, or into the woods to stalk deer, we talked more. I specifically remember one talk that seemed important to him. It was in his little office off the garage in the our parsonage in Ellijay. We may have been working on that Sunday's worship bulletin. 

He talked not about what he did as a Marine in 1944 and 45, but about why he did it. He spoke pretty frankly about the horrors of fascism and how important it was to defeat it. So though I don't know nearly as much as I wish I did about his experiences in the Pacific (beyond his amateur photography of Ulithi), I do know that he knew WHY he left his beautiful wife and two beloved little daughters to be very uncomfortable and lonesome and risk his life for two years halfway around the world. 

I have beloved kin who likely vehemently disagree, but I truly believe to my bones that, had Daddy lived to this time, he would be as bewildered and disappointed as I am that so many Americans would tolerate the hatred and fascism of the MAGA extremists and their leader. 

I wonder if Daddy read the War Department article pictured above and quoted from in this column by Heather Cox Richardson.

Defend Democracy

We Suspected He Was a Fascist in 2015. Now We Know.

A friend wrote the following Facebook post seven years ago, December 3, 2015:

Trumpism, however ideologically inchoate, manifests at least seven of the hallmarks of fascism identified by the Italian polymath Umberto Eco. They include:

• a cult of action,
• a celebration of aggressive masculinity, 
• an intolerance of criticism, 
• a fear of difference and outsiders, 
• a pitch to the frustrations of the lower middle class, 
• an intense nationalism and resentment at national humiliation, and 
• a “popular elitism” that promises every citizen that they’re part of “the best people of the world.” (New York times)

..and I thought he was just a clownish character who gave voice to to the disenchanted through his malapropisms. Weirdly racist and uninformed but harmless. Maybe not...

-Michael Berg

Yesterday the former President of the United States suggested that the Constitution be suspended so that he can be reinstated. Donald John Trump is, indeed, a fascist.