What is this "immune system"? It has many parts, and operates at many levels. At the level of national governance, for example, we have organizations that work within the system to address many of the individual "symptoms" that commentators have identified, such as restrictions on personal liberties, encroachment of privacy, and so on. Supporting the work of such organizations, such as the ACLU, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Public Citizen and others, is an immensely valuable way to fight the development of fascism. A free, independent, and alternative press is certainly part of this "immune system" -- which is why people are rightly alarmed to see protofascists like the Koch brothers contemplating the takeover of major newspapers. The pluralistic and multicultural aspects of American society form another preventive factor, countering the fascist impulse to enforce cultural uniformity and ideological purity. The struggles to reduce corporate power, revitalize local economies, combat racism and sexism, encourage cross-cultural interaction, and strengthen democracy are all part of this multi-pronged effort, though the individuals and organizations involved may not see themselves as explicitly "counter-fascist."
Nipping Fascism in the Bud
How about prophylaxes -- practices that keep the body healthy, and disease at bay? According to numerous public health studies, just washing your hands on a regular basis -- a simple, mundane activity if ever there was one -- actually provides one of the most effective measures for preventing the spread of many diseases. Preventing the spread of the "social disease" called fascism is a bit more complex -- but many of the preventive measures that are available to each and every one of us are similarly simple and mundane.
But before we can understand how that works, first we need to recognize that fascism is more than just a form (or style, actually) of government. It is not just a matter of government structure -- of laws, agencies, and regulations. It is also a cultural phenomenon, in which the media, the arts, the educational system, the church, and all the other institutions, traditions, and customs that make up "society" are enlisted (or drafted) into the cause of imposing the artificial "unity" that fascist propaganda makes to seem so attractive. And to the extent that individual citizens accept and internalize the fascist agenda, it affects even our day-to-day interpersonal relationships.
So counterfascist actions must take place at all three levels -- the structural, the cultural, and the personal. "Fighting fascism" is not an ill-defined struggle against some abstract "evil" force, but rather a series of ongoing, specific, finite, doable tasks: identify and rectify its root causes; minimize the factors that promote it; and bolster the factors that discourage it. Preventing the development of fascism requires the continuous and proactive promotion of democratic values and ideals.
In order to establish their dominance, fascists who aspire to power first need to create an apparent groundswell of "popular support" for the structural changes they desire. (It is far more likely that fascist power will be established in the USA through apparently "free and fair" elections than through some kind of armed rebellion or coup d'etat. It is also far more likely to come from the grassroots up, rather than being imposed from above.)
The fascist state cannot develop without a fascist society, and a fascist society depends on individuals internalizing its key qualities -- such as fearfulness, suspicion, the lack of empathy, unquestioning obedience, arrogant nationalism, the reliance on force. But we can refuse, in our everyday lives, to let such traits manifest themselves, and instead make a conscious effort to develop and express their opposites. If a fascist state can be characterized as merciless, for example, then showing compassion and simple human kindness is itself a powerful, innately counter-fascist act. Fascism cannot tolerate creativity and imagination, since it dare not allow its citizens to imagine alternatives to its rule -- so fostering creative thought and expression is likewise counter-fascist. (How many more such examples can you devise?)
Your Counterfascist Toolbox, and What to Do With It
What kinds of tools do we have, then, in our "counterfascist toolbox"? The first tool is simple vigilance: just paying attention, and keeping ourselves informed about what is going on, both in our immediate vicinity and in other places around the country. Not paranoia, mind you -- fearfulness can paralyze us, and make us think we are powerless when in fact we are not. Legislatures are still passing laws in the open, even if some of those laws are being composed behind closed doors by special interests.
Centeredness -- the ability to maintain calm, rational equanimity in the face of stress or provocation -- counters the tendency to panic, or take rash, impulsive, and ultimately counterproductive action. Many physical and spiritual disciplines exist that help develop this quality, from meditation and prayer to martial arts and tightrope walking -- and as it develops, we become better able to think clearly when we might otherwise get caught up in the emotion of the moment.
Centeredness supports courage, another important tool to have handy. Countering fascism on the everyday, interpersonal level might mean interrupting or contradicting someone else's oppressive attitudes or mistaken assumptions, and risking some kind of immediate personal blowback. Countering it on the structural or cultural levels might mean taking a visible public stand, risking arrest, or worse.
The creation and maintenance of community is also crucial -- and here I mean "community" in two somewhat different senses of the word. First, it is obviously important to surround oneself with like-minded and supportive people -- but it is also equally important to reach out across ideological boundaries, and create a wider sense of "community" among people who do not agree on everything. Fascism, of whatever stripe, thrives on the easy delineation of groups between "Us"'s and "Them"'s, and we should muddle those borders whenever possible. (This means, by the way, resisting the strong temptation to dehumanize and belittle those with whom we disagree on this issue or that, and instead searching to find areas of common ground where communication becomes possible.)
Finally -- what can we do with these and the many other tools we have? Here are some ideas...
- Press for ever-greater openness, transparency, and accountability in both government and business.
- Work to keep power as diffuse as possible, and to counter its tendency to centralize.
- Encourage greater civic participation, whether at the polling place, on the street, or in the workplace.
- Let no group have reason to feel that it is "locked out" or dispossessed.
- Strive to reduce the power of corporations over the government, and of government over the people.
- Use the power of community both to celebrate the diversity that enriches our lives, and to lessen the differences that divide us.
And most of all: whatever happens - refuse to remain silent.
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