By and large, this development of a growing native fascism, has been ignored by traditional political and religious and academic leaders, perhaps hoping that this movement will go away on its own. But authoritarianism can happen here, and we're right in the midst of its early growth phase. If it's not stopped in its tracks now, we can anticipate the full panoply of rightwing terrorism: paramilitary squads out for revenge or pressuring or exacting violence against liberal opponents or certain ethnic groups, more assassinations of doctors performing abortions or teaching family planning, censorship agents, militias allied with rightist church factions, witch-hunting Congressional panels, and so on.
Well, let's just end this summary here. The history I'm recounting is too depressing to continue for very long. We are in the midst of a terrible moral whirlpool in this country, with dire implications for our democratic republic, and for us as individuals fighting to right our listing ship of state.
So, what is to be done? How should liberals and moderates and progressives respond? Go to bed and pull the covers over our heads? Join a meditative ashram in the Himalayas? Spend more time venting at the shrink's? In short, abandon the playing field to the enemy while we flail about and participate in leftwing circular firing squads?
My answer, as it always is when dealing with political funks, is to prepare for revolution while fighting for attainable, probably small victories. Democracy is not a spectator sport; it involves pain, rejection, endless struggle, two steps forward and one step back, two steps backward and one step forward, etc. etc.
Action can be an effective antidote for despair. Working on behalf of others leads to more care and appreciation of one's own life-direction. The confusion of depression is a ripe time to build, to explore, to be more creative about our approaches. And above all, to organize, Organize, ORGANIZE so that when the tectonic political plates finally start to shift, the Movement is in place and ready to act. #
Bernard Weiner, Ph.D. in government & international relations, has taught at universities in California and Washington, worked as a writer/editor with the San Francisco Chronicle for two decades, and currently serves as co-editor of The Crisis Papers (www.crisispapers.org). To comment:
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Copyright 2010 by Bernard Weiner.
First published by The Crisis Papers 12/8/10.
http://www.crisispapers.org/essays10w/silence.htm
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