“Sometimes you can tell what something is by what it isn't.”
Kenneth Copeland

As I've listened (and paid attention) to what is, and has been, going on in our country in recent years, it has occurred to me that many don't fully appreciate what the term “fascism” means. And in not doing so they do not fully comprehend what it will mean if our country continues on its current path.

Let me first give the definition of liberty as defined by Britannica.com: “Liberty is a state of civil or political freedom.” Synonyms include choice, free will, option, and volition. It then goes on to define democracy as “a system of government in which power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or through freely elected representatives.” Synonyms for democracy include self-rule, autonomy, republic, self-government and self-determination.

Finally, Merriam-Webster.com, along with other sites, defines fascism as a “a populist political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual, that is associated with a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, and that is characterized by severe economic and social regimentation and by forcible suppression of opposition.” Some synonyms for fascism include despotism, totalitarianism, Nazism, absolutism, and tyranny.

By understanding the definitions of each of those terms it should be clear that there cannot be a true democracy when fascism is at the heart of the government. Fascism does not allow for individualism or free will. It does not allow the majority to rule. And, above all, it benefits only those of whom the government approves. All others are so severely marginalized that they are no longer seen as human beings with any intrinsic value and are subject to constant persecution, including rampant racism and sexism. In worst cases, as in Nazi Germany and Pol Pot's Cambodia, those deemed unworthy are put to death, often by the millions.

Perhaps it needs to be understood that fascist power is derived from psychological control of the masses. It undermines the individual's ability to think for themselves. It endorses myth, promotes lies, and plays on their rage and fears to the point that the individual will only accept the reality presented by the government. This is why intellectuals and artists are always among the first to be annihilated. They question, discuss and debate issues. This is anathema to fascism. It is also precisely why the lives of the founders of our democracy were in constant jeopardy. Because they dared to question, and they dared to declare, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights...”

Are we really so willing to give up those rights?

c. 2025