It has become increasingly obvious that many Americans have an inexplicable, powerful attraction to fascism.
Some might call it a direct result of the “Trump effect” or the significant way that former president Donald Trump changed American politics, but I reject this theory wholeheartedly. It is quite naive to believe that our country’s sudden explosion of right-wing extremism was caused by a problematic, bumbling billionaire felon who also somehow claims to be representative of the average working-class American.
When I think of Trump, I picture him as the cheap, shiny wrapping paper that clings to the horrid, misshapen box that is fascism. He is a symptom, not the cause, of many Americans’ increased fear, deep-seated hatred and indoctrination into right-wing extremist politics. The United States’ affection for fascism has time and time again reared its ugly head throughout many points in history — Trump-ism is just a vessel for its prominence today.
The internet, despite its many advantages, has become a breeding ground for fascist sentiments. It connects bigots with each other and provides spaces for problematic echo chambers. Many white liberals seem surprised that the far-right has stepped into the center of American politics, but this astonishment is unwarranted, considering our communal access to the media.
I have often felt unsettled watching videos of Trump supporters who are unable to articulate why they have pledged their support, or offer any concrete policies of his that they agree with, yet continue to offer him their praise and commitment. Tweets or Facebook posts written with the intent to fearmonger or spread misinformation are a wasteland of antithetical statements, thinly veiled racialism and blatant hate speech — the comments are often significantly worse than the post itself.
The illusion of living in a free, democratic country has made people blind to the grasp that fascist ideals have had on the U.S. from its conception. We needn’t look further than the Ku Klux Klan’s reign of white supremacist terror, which peaked between the aftermath of the Civil War and during the Civil Rights movement. We can point to how Adolf Hitler and the Nazis found inspiration for the Nuremburg Laws in the de jure racist legislation enforced in the U.S. during the 1930s. Since the early 2000s, the most conservative Supreme Court in decades has struck down the right to abortion, vaporized race-based affirmative action and has permanently altered the federal government’s powers.
American nationalism has always been suspect, providing support for racism and xenophobia, and now it’s evolving into a new sort of monster. The truth is that many people do not understand what fascism is, and how quickly a society can become dominated by an authoritarian state. Unfortunately, this ignorance, compounded by propaganda and disinformation, is what has historically enabled the detonation of fascist politics — and democracy is nothing more than a flimsy shield protecting us from the threat of authoritarianism.
Although fascism has taken on countless definitions, and has a multitude of theories about its contours, I notice that two of its main tenets have been budding in American society: ultranationalism and a cult of personality. Extreme nationalism transcends more than just love for and pride in one’s country. It calls for citizens to find and target a common enemy, an Other, who are blamed for pressing societal problems — a process that typically ignores the real origin of said issues.
A prime example of ultranationalism today is the intense xenophobia and anti-immigrant rhetoric being pushed by right-wing politicians, especially Trump. He has framed much of his presidential campaign around promising to “close the border” and green-light mass deportations, has called immigrants “rapists” and “animals,” and recently claimed that the U.S. is “like a garbage can for the world.”
People believe these scapegoating efforts, especially when the words are coming out of the mouths of the figures that they revere. Thus, Trump and his allies’ constant attacks on migrants and undocumented immigrants have been taken as sacred word. MAGA is a cult of personality, and Trump is leading this charge, beloved by his supporters and undeterred by his opponents.
Fascism always had a home in the United States, and it certainly cannot be beat out by claiming that this country is immune to democratic backsliding — we’ve seen so many recent attempts to roll back personal liberties and civil rights. Trump’s blatant refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election, and his encouragement of the violent insurrection of the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021, is indicative that any respect for American political institutions is long gone. Instead, far too many misguided citizens either desire the systemic overhaul that fascism will provide, or they do nothing to fight it.
I have no shame in saying that I am incredibly anxious about the results of the presidential election, and the subsequent responses that will ensure. There’s a sort of electricity in the air that is impossible to ignore, and it is reverberating throughout the entire country. We are on the precipice of the unknown, a future that will undoubtedly contain state-sanctioned violence, whether it be abroad or in our own neighborhoods.
I urge you to pay attention to this election, and consider the ways in which the presidential candidates will impact our rights and reflect our morals. Be critical, alert and informed — become fascism’s worst enemy, so that we may better resist if it is to become our reality.
This article appeared in print on Page 10 of Vol. LVIII Issue VI, published Nov. 4, 2024.
