Tag Archives: fascism

The Madness of Fascism is the Point

Like many of you, I watch the implosion of the United States in horror. It seems like madness. And on one level, it is. But on another, it is not. What I mean by the latter is that what is happening isn’t some random craziness. It is a calculated plan. It is the “tear it all down in order to build it up” approach, similar to how other fascist and authoritarian regimes operate.

These regimes see any democratic institution as an impediment to the glory of the state or the empire. Consolidation of power is viewed as the only way forward for saving it. Thus, the oligarch Elon Musk has been tasked with the unraveling. He has been given the keys to the kingdom. And like a petulant and sociopathic child, he has gone inside, turned over the crockery, fired all the servants and dumped out the treasure chest.

And this brings me to the Maga phenomenon. Because this is the heart of this particular iteration of fascism. “Make America Great Again” is of course a silly and sophomoric bit of nonsense. Which era of “greatness” do they mean? Indigenous genocide? Slavery? Lynching? Jim Crow? Red Scare? Bombing dozens of nations?

In reality, the only “great” part of America has been the magnitude of its scope, scale and power. If there is any noble greatness, it has come from its oppressed peoples. From Indigenous, Black, Brown, working class women, LGBTQ, and other marginalized communities who resisted the brutality of the American boot on their necks. Certainly not the ruling class that runs corporations and both political parties.

To the leadership of this cult of Maga, it is not only about demonizing, otherizing, scapegoating and persecuting anyone who is not white, cis-male, Christian, capitalist and heterosexual. This part is an essential characteristic of fascistic rule. But it is also about bullying the vassal and client states of the American Empire into submission. It knows it can’t do this with its own oligarchy, so it focuses on tributes, concessions and relinquishing of territory from rivals and allies. Its “great” past was one brimming in arrogant and unmerciful dominance. And this is the one they want to return to.

The problem is that the world is different now. The American Empire is in steep decline. Its prominence and prestige are waning. Even its vaunted dollar is increasingly tenuous. The unilateral hegemony it once knew is crumbling while other empires and coalitions rise. So, it is doing what all dying empires do. It installed a madman to restore its greatness.

And we should not think this madman is holding the US hostage. His approval rating among Americans has been mostly positive in these first few weeks. He embodies the very worst characteristics of the American stereotype. He is boorish, intolerant, anti-intellectual, averse to facts, arrogant and ruthless. And he is admired for this. This should not be surprising as all fascist leaders share similar traits and they enjoy cultish devotion because of them.

The problem with madmen is that they have a tendency to burn things down far greater than they build or rebuild things. And once fascism makes a home in a country it becomes exceedingly difficult to remove it.

Kenn Orphan, February 2025

*title image is from the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC.

Above All, Love Fiercely

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We all woke up to a different world today. One where dehumanizing language and threats from a American president are being applauded. Where a Nazi salute at its inauguration is being normalized or played down. And no matter how some may gaslight you or attempt to normalize it, the fact is that the world we woke up to today is a terrifying one. And it is okay to feel that. To feel terrified about what is to come. If you aren’t, I would question your sanity. But know you aren’t alone in that fear.

The United States has fallen to authoritarianism. Bolder than anyone has seen in the States thus far. Of course, the seeds of it were always there. An undercurrent simmering for decades. Supremacist mythology and obtuse indifference. Political leaders who became more and more corrupt, beholden to corporate and militaristic hubris. Who openly aided a genocide. Rights systematically striped away. Education and intellectualism mocked relentlessly. A persistent and influential religious fundamentalism. An oligarchy that grew more and more powerful, year after year. The result of these things was inevitable: Fascism.

But we cannot afford to ignore the writing on the wall. The US is an empire in decline. Burning or flooded cities thanks to the unaddressed impacts of climate change, growing shantytowns, entrenched poverty. Stagnant services and crumbling infrastructure. A predatory healthcare system. A bloated and over-extended military.

America is a sinking ship. And it has placed a fascist in the captain’s seat. And these facts make it even more dangerous than before, not only to marginalized people in the States, but to anyone in its orbit. And let’s face it. We are ALL in its orbit.

So, what do we do now? In the short term, it is okay to hide. To distract ourselves. We may need to do this for our sanity and physical health. But in the long term, denial can be lethal. It can strip us of our agency, Our capacity to act. So, after a time, it may be necessary for you to act quickly and decisively.

If you are in the States, I would seriously consider leaving. If you cannot leave, I would consider relocating to a state with more progressive governance. I understand moving may be economically impossible for many. And some may not want to leave family. If you cannot leave your state, seek out like minded individuals and organizations. Believe me, they exist. And you will all need each other in the coming years. Build networks for assistance and protection. Reliable support for when the government is potentially denuded of its ability to provide assistance.

If you are outside the US, avoid all unnecessary travel to it. Begin untethering yourself from its orbit. Voice your dissent and object to policies that seek to normalize relations with the States. Elect leaders who will stand up to American imperialism.

No matter where you live, consider becoming active in local politics. Attend meetings or hearings. The biggest impact we can have is on the local level.

Take a good look at how and where you live and who you know. Identify individuals and organizations that seek to dehumanize, demonize or criminalize you and avoid them. The history of fascism is a history of betrayal. Hold your enemies at bay. And know who your allies are and hold them close. Solidarity is not a platitude. It is a survival skill.

Above all, love fiercely. Love is the best antidote to fascism. To its fear, its cruelty, its violence. Love with everything you’ve got.

Kenn Orphan, January 2025

*Photo is Metamorphosis by Joan Miró, 1935.

America’s Own Pinochet

The New Fascism, Same as the Old One

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“One can have Fascism come in any form at all, through the Church, through sex, through social welfare, through state conservatism, through organized medicine, the FBI, the Pentagon. Fascism is not a philosophy but a murderous mode of deadening reality by smothering it with lies.” – Norman Mailer

“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between true and false no longer exist.” – Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism

Fascism can be a difficult concept to understand. The word often conjures up images of Hitler and Mussolini, but this narrow understanding can be deceptive since fascist thinking can occur and rise within any society or among the ranks of practically any ideological following. This is because fascism is not really an ideology in and of itself but more a collection of reactionary and misanthropic beliefs. It has become a popular pejorative hurled from many corners of society today; but the true danger is that its shadows haunts the precincts of every human heart.

Fascism in any given country will not look exactly like the German or Italian fascism of the 1930s. Swastikas and salutes are lightning rods for scorn. In truth, it is a subtle mindset which arises within a society as a seemingly familiar creature. It uses a nation’s symbols, songs and institutions, and it generally targets the young and those who see their privilege or status imperiled. It envelops itself in a skin of familiarity, and that’s what makes it so insidiously dangerous.

Many of the identifiers of fascism might be familiar to some because historians and those who have survived its horrors have analyzed its character for decades. These include aggressive xenophobia and chauvinism, racial, ethnic or religious supremacism, support for state violence and brutality, rigid belief in traditional (see subservient) roles for women, support for censorship or suppression of dissent, denial of historical atrocities committed by one’s own government, admiration of dictators (foreign and domestic), a general disdain for or open hostility toward diversity, belief in mythic tales that underpin notions of supremacy and a glorious past and scapegoating and dehumanization of other groups of people for society’s ills.

It is often thought of as a rightwing phenomenon, but it should be understood that there are many elements of the “left leaning” Western liberal establishment which are vulnerable to the fascist mindset. We see this happening today among those who fecklessly support the surveillance state apparatus in the form of the FBI and other nefarious governmental agencies because of their justified loathing of Donald Trump.

This is no more apparent than in the Russophobia we’ve seen this past year. Of course it is undeniable, based upon the above criteria, that Trump has fascistic characteristics; and his unhinged tweets, cabinet appointments and policies reflect this. But liberals may be especially susceptible to propaganda handed down to them from the establishment elite who protect the fragile bubble of privilege in which they are ensconced. It may also be why there aren’t many protests when it comes to America’s imperial war machine or global capitalism in general because it simply does not affect most of them directly. Liberals need to grapple with the idea that if Trump is deposed, and it is appearing more and more likely by the day, then a Pence presidency might give us a more terrifying glimpse into an establishment approved fascism.

But there are some on the so-called “far left” in the West who, in their justified hatred of American imperialism, show admiration for various authoritarians who happen to buck the imperialist system, or at least the American version of it. And this is done often while absolving or ignoring the documented crimes these regimes commit, from Myanmar to Syria to the Philippines. The far right (now labeled in the en vogue parlance as “alt-right”) has seized on these weaknesses, attempting to bamboozle some into joining their ranks. But this isn’t anything new. From Hitler’s brown shirts to today’s neo-Nazis, the tactic has always been to focus on the easiest targets for influence, those prone to accept information that confirms their prejudices, bias and base fears. Today is only different in the optics.

This is certainly not an argument in defense of imperialism or for violent militias who commit atrocities or acts of terror against civilians for a “just cause.” But it is incongruous with leftist values to have admiration for any totalitarian leader or despotic regime however charismatic or “anti-imperialist” they might appear. In other words, just because a leader stands up to American imperialism does not automatically make them a “hero of the people.”

This has come up in regard to Russian president Vladimir Putin who is sometimes painted as a leftist, an assertion which defies reality. Of course the liberal conspiracies involving Russiagate are mostly ridiculous, but that segment of the “left” which idolizes foreign authoritarians to near sainthood status is equally injudicious and ignores historical facts.

Indeed, today’s Russia is far from the leftist utopia some would like us to believe. The political landscape of post-Soviet Russia, which was viciously taken advantage of by American capitalists who sought to infuse the nation with neoliberal policies in the first years, gave rise to an oligarchic system not much different than the current one ruling Washington. By installing Boris Yeltsin, a much loathed dolt with a drinking problem, the Americans created the conditions for the current geopolitical quagmire. Yeltsin, echoing his neocon supporters in the West, opted on whipping up ethnic animosities and invaded impoverished but oil drenched Chechnya, appointing former KGB Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Putin to conduct the brutal and bloody affair.

In the meantime, a robust fascist strain had arisen within Russian society bolstered by the atmosphere of political confusion, foreign subterfuge, economic disempowerment and geopolitical humiliation following the collapse of the USSR. It asserts itself to this day within a climate of state repression where the LGBT community continues to be persecuted by reactionary elements. But this phenomenon is happening around the world in some of the West’s staunchest allies, from India, to the Middle-East and to Europe and beyond. And it manifests in a variety of ways.

In India, the rise of Narendra Modi attests to the universality of fascism. The biggest democracy on earth has also seen the terrifying rise of Hindutva nationalism, a supremacist ideology akin to white nationalism in Europe and the US. It should be of no surprise, then, that violence against non-Hindus, women, lower castes and transgender people has exploded. Fascistic regimes routinely employ violence or tacitly encourage it from armed militias and vigilantes. And the occupation of other regions often plays a role by bolstering ideas of militaristic prowess. The brutal occupation of Kashmir is a testament to this.

In Israel, the far right has become emboldened by a decades long military occupation aided by the US and Europe. The ideology of Zionism has led to an apartheid-like system which is undeniably fascistic in its character. And the Palestinians are not the only victims of this. Anti-immigrant sentiment and policies of expulsion have gained popularity. But antisemitism plays a part in this as well. Fascist thought at once loves the idea of the state of Israel while simultaneously loathing Jews, and one can see that play out in rightwing Christian media. Even white supremacist Richard Spencer has jumped on this. On the “far left” there have been troubling instances of antisemitism which only serve to derail Palestinian solidarity by alienating Jewish peace activists.

All around the world fascism is seeing a terrifying resurgence. Indeed, the neoliberal capitalist policies of the late 20th century helped to create conditions favourable to its rise; but abrupt climate change, imperialistic wars of exploitation, religious or sectarian extremism and the long legacy of racist colonialism has fueled its ascendancy as well. In the 21st century we, as a species, are faced with its looming specter, a phantom composed of the billions of corpses from mass graves, gulags and internment camps throughout human history. There is no doubt that it must be fought at every turn, but to do so it must first be seen for what it is and where it lurks.

Fascism is a disease of the mind. It is that plain where internal fears meet the external realities of the world we live in. These fears are projected onto that world and react in such a way as to attempt to shut them down; and this is why those with such a mindset find authoritarian figures so appealing. The comfort offered by a black and white world, albeit a false one, replaces the seemingly chaotic randomness of life. Under the rubric of fascistic thought, all ambiguities, context and nuances are conveniently sponged away. The “other,” whether they be foreign, indigenous or simply different, is scapegoated, then dehumanized, then incarcerated, then exterminated. Empathy is slayed. To the organized fascist, confusion is a supreme virtue. Truth is an enemy met with ridicule, then suppression, then death.

As human beings we all hold within us both light and dark and all shades in between. It is true that there are many who commit unconscionable acts of cruelty or wickedness. In fact, most of them hold great power. It is also true that the current global order is predicated upon the ruthless exploitation of billions of people primarily in the global south and countless species, and the systematic rape of the planet for coin. It is a despotism driven by cupidity and violent domination. Each of us, however, has an agency within that can enable us to step outside of these factors and engage with the world. We possess the power to see beyond our fear. But if we allow fascism to flourish, if we do not push back, it will undoubtedly rob us of that agency and, in turn, rob the world of its very future.

Kenn Orphan, August 2018

A Stampede Against Time

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It’s inspiring to see so many young people in the United States rise to action against gun violence, especially in response to the mass shooting phenomenon which has dominated news cycles and the American psyche itself. But unless the link is made to militarism, police brutality, ecological destruction, economic disenfranchisement and state violence it will be reduced to mere spectacle and cynically used by the Democratic Party, that infamous graveyard of social movements, for political advancement.

The so-called “March for Our Lives” was emblematic of this. Held on a weekend, permits were easily granted. The corporate media portrayed it favorably. There were celebrities, pundits and political hacks galore. There were no major police incidents. And nothing was disrupted politically, economically or socially. Essentially, it was a state sanctioned “day of rage” which did not upend anything nor have any consequential effect on the underlying societal inequities or maladies that create a violent society in the first place.

Compare this weekend’s events to the reaction of the state to Black Lives Matter rallies, the Occupy Movement or Standing Rock Sioux and you get a clear picture of which movements are allowable or even smiled upon and which ones they will brutally crush. The Democrats showed little interest in those latter movements because they represented a real threat to the repressive capitalist, ecologically devastating and thoroughly racist status quo of which they are a part.

And then there is the privilege. The very name “March For Our Lives” reflects a kind of cooptation in relation to Black Lives Matter, and this is especially troubling since most of the participants have been largely from the white petit bourgeois (middle class). Similar comparisons can be made to the #metoo movement because although it was founded by a Black woman (Tarana Burke), it was co-opted by a white celebrity (Alyssa Milano) and gained steam via an exposé on the powerful producer Harvey Weinstein. And thus far it has shown few, demonstrable, real life benefits for working class women of colour because the systems of class exploitation persist undisturbed and unabated.

But highly organized and moneyed events like the one this past weekend are not really meant to effect change. They take place only within the confines of acceptable dissent, rattling few cages and causing no one (especially the wealthy and powerful elite) too much inconvenience. And they often mask more nefarious and insidious motives of the state for increased control and the suppression of actual dissent. For instance, the main focus of animus at this weekend’s march was the National Rifle Association, arguably a lobby group that actively defends white nationalist terror. But nothing was uttered about Grumman Northrup, or Lockheed Martin, or Halliburton, or the Pentagon, or the Department of Defense, or the police for that matter, all of which cause substantially more deaths globally. And this is by design. These “movements” generally act as a valve to let off steam; and the action they call for all too often come in the form of draconian legalism, surveillance and authoritarian overreach.

Indeed, the US has always been supremely authoritarian but it is rapidly slipping into outright fascism with each passing day. Military analysts and generals are running the show behind the scenes of the narcissist in the Oval Office and are salivating at the next geopolitical assault (see quagmire) be it against Iran, North Korea, Venezuela or even Russia or China, all while a complex police state has been meticulously constructed domestically.

It is an empire where the ruling class create a narrative to serve the purpose of maintaining their power while they continue to hack through what is left of the rag we call a social safety net and fill their already bloated private coffers with stolen public coin. And it enforces it all through coercion, intimidation, marginalization and violence, both at home and abroad. This is why social movements cannot have real success if they are largely generated and sustained by members of the elite or the establishment. They serve only as an illusion of agency, not true power; and often end with more terrifying results.

It is my sincere hope that many of the young people rising up today make this crucial connection and the #NeverAgain movement will grow to encompass US militarism, the prison/surveillance/police industrial complex and systemic economic inequality, because the failure to do so will only speed them toward an even more terrifying totalitarianism within a deeply unequal and warrior society neutered of its political agency and chomping at the bit for more war and a militarized world. But they will need to do this quickly. This isn’t simply a march for their lives; it is a stampede against time for us all.

Kenn Orphan, 26 March 2018

The Only Answer to Fascism

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What happened in Charlottesville this past weekend was more about racist fascism than an alienated white “under class.” To say such is a smack in the face to the millions of working class whites who struggle side by side with their black and brown counterparts everyday. They raise each other’s children, share each other’s health costs, weep at each other’s weddings and funerals, all in the fight to survive in capitalism’s cruel game of manufactured competition.

Many of the racists who came to Charlottesville drove in on SUVs from other states wearing Louis Vuitton sunglasses. They are weak kneed reactionaries emboldened by tiki torches and idiotic speeches by rockstar bigots like Milo Yiannopolis, afraid of losing the ill gotten privilege they enjoy thanks to their skin hue, sexual orientation, gender and religion. It is true many are saying class warfare had something to do with this and they would be right; but equating the millions of the working class with this kind of raw racism and social hatred is inaccurate and beyond insulting. And they deserve better than that.
As for the fascism that was on display in that small, college town in Virginia there can be only one answer. There is no compromise to be made with fascism. No common ground can be found. No bridge built. No excuse made. For fascism is at its core an ideology of death. And if it is allowed to flourish, if it is permitted to prevail, it will most assuredly spell out a chapter of misery that will end with our epitaph. The only answer is a resounding NO!

Kenn Orphan 2017

Dedicated to the courage and memory of Heather Heyer who paid the ultimate price for standing up against racism, social hatred and fascism. May she rest in peace.

Resistance in an Age of Absurdity

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“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”
― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

From an incessant flow of paranoid tweets to bizarre statements about massacres that never happened or secret cameras fitted in microwaves, Donald Trump’s regime has ushered the unhinged spectacle of reality show television right into the Oval Office with stunning success. Were this absurdity to be contained within the confines of a political thriller it might be mildly entertaining. But in the real world, a world in which real civilians are being blown to bits by smart bombs, real children are starving to death, real refugees are being turned back to face certain death, and where the real biosphere is perilously close to the edge of catastrophe, this derangement is utterly terrifying.

Trump is a master at manipulating the corporate media via the manufacture of controversy and melodrama. Of course the irony is that the very same broadcasting behemoths he routinely demonizes provide his unhinged theatrics with non stop coverage which, in turn, has given them unprecedented ratings and profits. But behind the spectacle lurks a far more insidious method to this madness. In a mere three months the Trump regime has managed to replace the heads of institutions like the Department of Education, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, with individuals who wish to dismantle them. He has codified racist xenophobia through executive orders which ban Muslims and persecute undocumented immigrants. And through his elevation of white supremacist Steven Bannon to astonishing power, he has animated the latent white nationalist movement.

The Trump regime has also demonstrated its eager willingness to expand the war machine of American Empire, pouring billions of dollars into an already bloated military industrial sector while gutting social and medical services. In this short time Trump’s militarism has empowered the Pentagon and has claimed the lives of scores of men, women and children from Syria, to Yemen, to Iraq, and it is only just ramping up. There is also little to cast doubt on the prospect of wars and military conflicts involving China, North Korea and Iran in the not too distant future given the administration’s unhinged saber rattling and provocation.

His appointment of former ExxonMobil executive, Rex Tillerson, to the State Department signifies a blatant display of the influence of the fossil fuel industry in regard to US foreign and domestic policy. Tillerson presided over the company in the 1970s, a period in which the oil giant launched massive campaigns to deny its own research which confirmed human caused global warming. Trump’s recent executive order related to climate change delivered a blow to reason. It was meant to. His absurdist view that it is a hoax manufactured by the Chinese is a hallmark of his risible ignorance and, remarkably, still has currency in many conspiratorially minded circles. But in this Age of Absurdity facts and the truth itself have become the first victims.

As a resurgent fascism stands poised to sweep over the West we can expect increasing brutality against dissent; and it would be foolish to think the repercussions of this would remain localized. We will be increasingly asked to choose between compliance with monstrous state repression or bold resistance. The protests which have sprung up against the onslaught of misogynistic and xenophobic polices have been encouraging to see, but there are already a slew of laws in the works designed to stifle direct action. And the Democratic Party establishment is not interested, nor is it equipped to offer up any kind of meaningful resistance since it has acquiesced to the demands and interests of Wall Street, corporations and the war industry long ago. Their role has been one of normalizing the ruthless exploits of global capitalism. Indeed, the Clinton and Obama administrations championed the brutality of neoliberal capitalism and weakened civil liberties and gutted social safety nets for the poor while deporting millions of undocumented immigrants and bolstering the imperialistic war machine.

If there is anyone to look to in these dark times for inspiration it would be the ongoing struggles of Black Lives Matter, Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS), and Standing Rock Sioux which largely began during the previous administration and are international in scope. These movements have endured and weathered police and state intimidation, brutality, violence and arrest; and it is their fortitude and integrity which offers us all a living example of how bold we will need to be in the face of an ever more oppressive tyranny. They were born of the historic struggles of indigenous peoples against colonialism, police brutality and environmental racism. And with the perilous times that lie ahead solidarity with them is needed now more than ever before.

Thanks to the convergence of a climate ravaged world and a fragile biosphere that is teetering on collapse and extinction, the global despotism rising today will be unlike anything we have ever seen before. The flames of nationalism and xenophobia will be fanned by fascists who will ride a rising and unfortunate tide of climate chaos. They will use famine, austerity and social unrest and uncertainty to justify brutal authoritarianism, repression and state violence; and they will have no problem employing chicanery, scapegoating and dehumanization to achieve their end. Indeed, their embrace of absurdity, or its pretense, is their strength.

In The Origins of Totalitarianism Hannah Arendt said: “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.” The more fascists are permitted to make a mockery of justice, humanity and protection of the living earth, the more easy it will be for them to manipulate the deepest fears and prejudices of the public. They will continue to launch mendacious smears against climate scientists, assault the poor and the most vulnerable, advance racism, expand war and militarism, disparage the press, and promote the inversion of reality to their favor even as the planet burns. And if we continue to allow them to bend the arc of truth we will most assuredly see truth itself begin to die. Our resistance to tyranny begins the day we refuse to allow this to happen on our watch.

Kenn Orphan 2017

More Than Hope

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The summer of 2016 has only just started but it is already shaping up to be one fraught with acts of terror, sheer violence, and bloody aggression. This is true in so many places around the world. But in the United States, a nation which arrogantly declares itself both indispensable to world peace and stability and exceptional in its character, it is especially glaring due to the utter hypocrisy on display. In just the span of a couple months there have been mass shootings, heinous crimes and acts of blatant police brutality all with a backdrop of political rancor, corruption and unabashed saber rattling on the world stage.

Philando Castile, murdered by police officer. Source Fox9.

This should cause ordinary Americans to pause and reflect on what got us here. It should make us revile the powers that be who seek to boost their careers by instilling fear, racism and prejudice. It should make us insist on rational laws about guns and who should have access to them, and it should cause us to reject the militaristic aggression that defines ALL of our foreign policy. It should make us unite behind leaders who only reflect truthfulness, transparency and the will to lead the nation away from the old order of entrenched aristocratic privilege, militarism and merciless despotism. It should be a catalyst for societal change that tears away the ugly cloak of racism that shrouds every aspect of our culture, our institutions and our national persona. It should create a dialogue between people of conscience about our differences and our strengths and build a bridge that connects them.

Victims of Pulse Massacre in Orlando. Source NY Daily News.

It is what I pray for but, sadly, not what I see happening. This is a broken nation slipping rapidly toward the maw of paranoid hatred and authoritarianism. It is a society which still celebrates the myths of the “Wild West” ignoring its genocidal and dystopic realities. It is a nation that delights in forgetting the crimes of its past and revels in creating false narratives that explain away its responsibilities today. It is a culture corrupted by the cupidity of capitalism and the mindlessness of consumerism even while the ecosystems around it which support the madness of its addiction are withering into extinction. It is a country not divided, but fractured into thousands of splinters held together, for now, with the most tenuous of threads.

Police fire at sniper which killed 5 officers at a Black Lives Matter rally in Dallas. Source Zerohedge.

Some have said that America is in its “1934 moment” referring to Europe prior to the second World War. This may be an over exaggeration since history does not repeat itself exactly, but it does reflect and rehash old forms more often than not. And with the earth’s climate growing more chaotic and resources beginning to dwindle this is a recipe of the most horrifying kind. I hope that this is not so, but hope can be a capricious ghost distracting us with empty platitudes and leading us down a path to dangerous inaction. We need more than hope now. We need courage and cooperation. We need community building based on our relationship to the earth and social understanding that shuns the barriers that prevent dialogue. And we need it fast, because the streets of summer are becoming hot with the anger of the disenfranchised and red with the blood of innocents; and the scheming wolf of fascism is an opportunist always lurking at America’s gates ready to pounce.

Kenn Orphan 2016

An All American Fascism

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The resurgence of white nationalism in mainstream American politics has left many nonplussed and baffled. White power flags, tattoos and symbols have made a stunning comeback, and they are coupled with threats, violence and Nazi salutes at huge rallies in support of presidential candidate, and front runner, Donald Trump. At a recent event one supporter shouted at a protester “go to fucking Auschwitz,” and in a rally held last month an audience member unabashedly asked the candidate how “we are going to get rid of” Muslims. Mr. Trump did nothing to condemn this overtly racist point of view. This is a phenomenon that should not be downplayed or dismissed as an anomaly. Indeed, it is representative of a much larger and far more dangerous feature of American society itself.

There has always been a persistent strain of fascism in this country, one that has been poised to sweep in to power the kind of charismatic authoritarian of the Hitler/Mussolini stripe. This is no more visually apparent than within Trump’s base. Stripped of agency and laden with humiliation, Trump supporters are the very emblem of an unforgiving vengeance within the disenfranchised mob. Torches and pitchforks aside, these demoralized masses are more than ready to pounce on the last vestiges of an anemic, American civil society already weakened by the barbarity of neoliberal (free market) capitalism and plutocratic despotism. And with environmental catastrophe and economic meltdown ever looming, this so called “fringe” may just succeed in doing the unthinkable.

With the obvious implosion of the Republican Party underway many Americans hold fast to the myth that the Democrats will save them from this unfolding nightmare. The truth, however, is that they will painfully prolong the inevitable. No matter how much they would like to paint it otherwise, they are just as much the party of the aristocratic class as the Republicans. They represent their interests, albeit in a less obnoxious manner than their conservative counterparts. But the effect is the same. Their aim is to preserve the status quo that is steadily demolishing any chance of a viable future for coming generations. Indeed, their plunder may usher this present generation into a dystopia only imagined in science fiction.

Their star candidate, Hillary Clinton, has a long, bloody history of supporting right wing coups and wars that decimated sovereign societies. Unsurprisingly, her mentor is none other than the preeminent war criminal Henry Kissinger. And she has all but vowed to aggressively provoke a nuclear armed Russia and attack Iran on behalf of her Israeli benefactors. But what is perhaps more troubling is her allegiance to the 1% of Wall Street, evidenced by her exorbitant speech fees at well heeled engagements and her condemnation of the Occupy Movement which sought to hold banks and corporate robber barons accountable for their malfeasance. If she seizes power in the coming election we can be assured of an acceleration of plutocracy, not its reverse.

To be sure, the only real change in American policy has come from grassroots mass movements which upended the comfortable privilege of the aristocratic elite. Whether demanding the end of the Vietnam War or equal rights for Black Americans, the power of social change has always stemmed from direct action from below, never from above. But we are in new territory now and the outlook is uncertain. Fascism is undeterred by reason or reform. It is their antithesis. It festers in the dark corners of social hatred ever in search of a new scapegoat, and it thrives in an environment where there are fewer options for advancement or hope. It replaces cooperation and rational debate with violent ridicule and meaningless, nationalistic jingoism.

We should not expect to see a fascism that mimics that of Hitler’s Germany, Mussolini’s Italy or Franco’s Spain. This fascism is uniquely American in its flare. Years of unfettered worship of all things military and an undying celebration of capitalism have furnished the masses with a disdain for the sustaining institutions that define a liberal democracy. And the indifference of the liberal elite to the suffering of working people has stoked an animus that is palpable. They will not endure sanctimonious preaching from the left on the deeply held virtues of tolerance and inclusion for much longer. And this is largely due to being mercilessly thrown to the side for corporate privilege. Their ranks are fed up and they are rising.

One thing is certain. A toxic brew of economic malaise and ecological decimation is simmering ever closer to the boiling point. Alternatives to this horrifying future do exist within movements like Black Lives Matter, indigenous rights and climate justice; but if we do not face the dire outcome of this poisonous concoction with demands for revolutionary change soon, it may spill over faster than anyone can imagine. And in its wake it will drown the civil rights and liberties that had been hard fought for, yet utterly taken for granted, in smoldering ruins.

Kenn Orphan 2016

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