What Fascism Means To Me

Politics! here’s a fold and a jump.

Fascism is a word I heard a lot growing up because we were convinced it was coming any day. But as an adult the word’s had a resurgence and I thought there was one crucial element of fascism that seemed to being lost amongst my friends, mired in the advocates for it being seemingly contradictory.

See, fascism has one underpinning truth: The leader knows what’s best. This isn’t born out of some ideological position, either. The nature of fascism is to seek out almost supernaturally-endowed leaders who are possessed with an impossibly deep insight into the character of the nation, who know more than polls, know more than pundits, know more than even the voters themselves. The fascist leader is one who can say seemingly contradictory things – ‘this election is rigged, only if I lose,’ because they know the truth. They know they’re supposed to win, because they have a deep insight into the nature of these things.

This is part of why fascism was so appealing in America! American culture has always had this myth of an individualistic mindset, a rugged loner who’s able to see through the mire of rules and social convention and ‘fix’ things. Heck, that’s why there was almost a fascist coup in the thirties overseen by business leaders in the United States. It’s the idea of someone who has superior insight into what should happen being given the power to make it happen.

Basically, it’s American foreign policy, being enforced domestically.