The United States Drifts Towards Political Irresponsibility
By John Scales Avery
17 December, 2015
Countercurrents.org
The recent Republican presidential debates were held in the gaudy and luxurious Venetian Casino in Los Vegas, a building whose billionaire Republican-backing owner Sheldon Adelson held a private meeting with fellow-billionaire Donald Trump before the debate.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article43743.htm
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article43748.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/12/16/republicans-principle-free-presidential-debate
In the two-hour hate-show that followed, the Republican candidates for the 2016 presidential nomination competed with each other over who could be the most avid in advocating war and racism. To worried observers, the scene was disturbingly reminiscent of the slide into fascism seen in Germany and Italy in the 1930's. At that time too, there were serious economic problems, and there was a desperate need for reassurance among populations.
Hitler and Mussolini appealed to the lower instincts of their electorates, especially to the primitive instinct of tribalism; and this is why these two hate-mongering politicians of the 1930's were genuinely popular, just as Donald Trump is today.
There are other parallels with the 1930's: The Nazis used the Reichstag fire as an excuse for attacks on civil rights, just as terrorism today is used as an excuse for suspending civil liberties.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_fire
The dominant role of corporations today also parallels their role in the rise of fascism in the 1930's. According to Benito Mussolini, “Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power”.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Talk:Benito_Mussolini
For those of us who feel affection for the United States, it is sad to see the country slide towards political irresponsibility and fascism. Even more importantly, just as in the 1930's, political irresponsibility led to an all-destroying world war, so today there is a great danger of a world war; and the threat today is far greater because of the terrible power of thermonuclear weapons.
But there are many very good people in the United States. We know this because of the great popularity of Bernie Sanders. It is time for them to speak out and act. We cannot have a situation where, as Yeats put it, “the best lack all conviction, while the worst are filled with passionate intensity.” We must prevent the rough beast of fascism from slouching towards Bethlehem to be born.
John Avery received a B.Sc. in theoretical physics from MIT and an M.Sc. from the University of Chicago. He later studied theoretical chemistry at the University of London, and was awarded a Ph.D. there in 1965. He is now Lektor Emeritus, Associate Professor, at the Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen. Fellowships, memberships in societies: Since 1990 he has been the Contact Person in Denmark for Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. In 1995, this group received the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts. He was the Member of the Danish Peace Commission of 1998. Technical Advisor, World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe (1988- 1997). Chairman of the Danish Peace Academy, April 2004. http://www.fredsakademiet.dk/ordbog/aord/a220.htm. He can be reached at [email protected]