The Phoenix Rally
All Aboard the Express Train to Fascism!
I've read a great deal about the cultural and political development of Nazism in Germany, from right after World War One, straight up until the complete takeover of the country's cultural and political apparatus and even thought (or at least thought that was publicly expressed) in the late 1930’s. Then it all, inevitably, devolved into military invasions and premeditated mass murder.
Other people on Substack (including myself) have, from time to time, been given to extreme forms of expression. They’ve pointed out the frightening similarities between the rise of Nazism and the ascent of Hitler, and the rise of Christian Nationalism and the ascent of Trump.
“Oh c’mon,” people said, “That’s going too far.” Really? I don’t think so.
From what I've read, including interviews with people who lived through that time in Germany, I'm convinced that Hitler believed, for whatever variety of reasons, every crazy thing he said—and that he personally studied and approved of every crackpot scheme-translated-into-bloody-reality that his followers carried out in his name...
As for Trump—I don't think he believes one word that comes out of his mouth.
He might have some of the same psychological bomb craters as Hitler—the same innate sadism, the same need for revenge against the whole world, but Trump only exists in a fantastical world of show business, a world where whatever he can get an audience to swallow is his reality. He hears himself talk and whatever he says is The Truth. But, from the vantage point of what is still the real world, the man is nothing but an intellectual and moral vacuum who represents a clear and present danger to our peace and security—like a gigantic parade float that has broken free of it’s handlers.
HOWEVER, the goal (and the result) of the two dictator’s actions (whatever the differences in their backgrounds or the culture they grew up in) is the same: To literally reshape the world—into a world in which they’re always right and everybody else is always wrong; a world in which everyone praises them as a kind of deity; a world, finally, where everyone does exactly what they say without question—or else!
This is the fantasy world of a two-year old whose narcissistic tantrums are now the law of the land; where every infantile wish is immediately gratified by petrified grown-ups, no matter how much chaos and destruction follows.
Trump and Hitler; Hitler and a Nazi rally in Munich, Trump and a Christian “Nationalist” rally in Phoenix—combined with the elimination of all forms of free speech that don't cater to the whims of the dictator...
Brothers and Sisters, I think it's certainly time--maybe way past time--to make the obvious comparisons between the two “leaders” and the movements they led/lead. Why waste time being polite about it when our Democracy and our freedom is being stolen from us and our country is being trashed right in front of our eyes?
Watching the public canonization and accompanying political manipulation of Charlie Kirk's life last night in Phoenix chilled me as no other event in this country ever has. As a Jew and, much more importantly, as born-and-bred American citizen whose parents' generation fought and died fighting Hitler and Nazism—AND, as someone who has studied the politics and history of both countries and cultures, I have no doubt that the country is on the road to becoming a mindless dictatorship, where people turn on each other and passively cooperate (out of fear or personal gain) in the liquidation of whole swaths of the population.
The inevitable end of all this behavior is (although, as it’s happened many other times in history, the majority of people can't see it) total anarchy and complete destruction.
How do we stop this decline—this slide into becoming a living Bosch painting?
I don’t know. I keep hoping that it will all resolve itself; that I’ll wake up, as from a bad dream; back in the real world, where freedom, law, equality are still functioning political goals and not historical artifacts in a MAGA renovated Smithsonian.
Any comments you have would be very welcome…