Trump has done some horrible things this past year. And when I say “Trump,” I mean him personally and his minions that do his bidding. But two recent events elicited laughter and mocking much more than the horror, anger and sadness that most of his actions pull out of us.
I’m talking about his forcing himself upon the Kennedy Center, and the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
I admit they do not strike the same terror as a private armed militia terrorizing American cities does, but they should not be relegated to second class fascist status either.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how so many people in our country do not see Trump for the fascist that he is. It boggles my mind how many people I grew up and went to school with support him, because I know for a fact that we were all taught to be on the lookout for fascism since elementary school.
When we learned about World War II, we got all the gory details of the Nazis: everything they did before and during the war, and how many of the German people were in the dark as to their true actions.
But history classes tend to focus on the extremes, rather than the subtleties. I think one major disservice to my generation was that we ended up learning to be on the lookout for the people who marched 6 million Jews into ovens, never realizing that was at the end, but not at all how they started.
We looked at fascism at its height, and recognized it to be bad.
We failed to see the much more subtle events that allowed these spectacles to become inevitable in the first place.
Because fascism isn’t only about the horrors. Those always come soon enough, but never on the first day. There needs to be a buildup – a desensitizing of the people.
A de-democratizing.
We tend to think of democracy in a limited way. When we talk about democracy, we immediately move the conversation into the realm of governing. We live in a representative democracy, formed under the Constitution.
But democracy isn’t just a form of government.
The United States, and I would venture to say, every country and community on Earth, is a democracy through culture.
A thriving culture with art and science and education – with music and dancing and paintings and films – is democracy in action. True democracy.
Every individual gets the opportunity to contribute as much or as little as they want, participate however they like, and of course, add their own personalizations too. If that’s not democracy in all its glory, then nothing is.
Fascism, on the other hand, is the antithesis of independent, pluralistic culture.
There can be no self-expression. There can be no inspiring anthem to remind you of your heritage. There can be no incredible painting or sculpture to tie a people together. There can be no mechanism for people to contribute their own ideas, values, and truths.
Because fascism requires control, and art and culture are antithetical to that.
⚠️ Meanwhile, the Kennedy Center is now shut down for “remodeling.” ⚠️
There can be no multi-cultural celebrations that help us realize we are united as human beings.
There can be no celebration of love over hate that unites over 120 million people in joy for 15 minutes all at the same time.
⚠️ Meanwhile, TPUSA felt the need to host an alternate halftime show. ⚠️
There is no plan for a uniting culture under fascism. Fascism cannot coexist with the Kennedy Center and the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
So one is closed, and the other mocked.
These events are not dramatic. They are not going to be the focus of any history lesson in the future, but they should be.
These are not side stories. They are examples of how fascism normalizes itself.
