Not So Long Ago
Fascist Germany may feel like a lifetime ago, but it was actually during my lifetime. And yet many people old enough to remember seem to have forgotten the horrible lessons of that time. Many more have never been taught what happened, why, or how. So given the current state of the world, including the situation in our own country, this is as good a time as any for review and reminders.
Ninety years ago this summer, in August 1934, Adolf Hitler mandated that all German government officials pledge their loyalty to him, the Führer, instead of to the country’s constitution.
Legislative bodies under dictators are often ceremonial, giving the appearance of a check on authority when in reality they are a rubber stamp for the dictator’s edicts. Swearing allegiance to a dictator is de rigueur in a one-party system, but it’s anathema in America. And the hope is that it will remain so.
Witnessing what has happened in the House and Senate this week has reminded me of how quickly our country is changing, and it has me worried about the ramifications of some of those changes. We are not Germany in the early 1930s, but some of the similarities are, to say the least, worrisome, if not outright frightening.
Donald Trump’s takeover of the Republican Party is practically complete. He demands total loyalty and allegiance to him, not to the GOP. This dynamic was on full display in Washington this week.
After insisting that money for Ukraine, Israel, and humanitarian aid be tied to appropriations for border protections, Republican members of Congress did an about-face, saying they now won’t support any border legislation. This abrupt change came after the party’s presumptive presidential nominee directed it. Gone were months of work on a compromise bill that addressed the border and Ukraine. Republicans were turning on each other, pointing fingers at those who dared to work with Democrats and question Trump. Members of his own caucus were calling for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to step down for having the audacity to support border funding. How many times, if ever, in American history has an out-of-office presidential candidate held such sway over elected representatives?
Hitler is long gone, but fascism is not dead. Repressive governments continue to grow around the world. As noted in a recent report by Freedom House, “Global freedom faces a dire threat. Around the world, the enemies of liberal democracy — a form of self-government in which human rights are recognized and every individual is entitled to equal treatment under law — are accelerating their attacks.”
The health and strength of American democracy depend on separate but equal branches of government. Trump, who has embraced dictators around the world, from Kim Jong Un in North Korea to China’s Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin in Russia, does not want to be equal. He wants total, complete power. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist or even a political scientist to see where this could be headed.
No one wants to be unnecessarily alarmist, but neither should anyone wish to fail to recognize danger signs. As The Washington Post’s slogan states, “Democracy dies in darkness.” Like theirs, our mission here at Steady is to shine a light where it is needed. Reminding us of German history from the late 1920s through the mid-1940s is an effort to do just that.
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Hearing Matt Gaetz offer up a resolution that said Trump didn't engage in an insurrection is disgusting and will go down in history as craven abasement before his Dear Leader. And 60 of his GOP colleagues joined him. All I can say is: Watch Out. This will definitely not end well if we don't get out the vote.
Yesterday I showed a young lady how to fill out her voter registration card. When she talked about who to vote for, I explained I can't tell her how to vote. That opened a conversation that lasted about 10 minutes. It only took that long to compare the Democratic party working for us as citizens, and the nightmare at the border that the Republican party won't allow to be fixed in order to sway the election. We also discussed the freedom we stand to lose.
She is 22 years old and had no idea. She said she intends to vote and now has her registration card with the stamp I put on it. She is the 50th young person I helped get registered.
Voting is the only thing we can do to fight off the advance of fascism in America. If everyone reading this substack gets one person to register, and maybe they all get one more person to register, we can assure that the orange traitor gets no where near our White House again.
Talk to the youth of our country. They are the most uninformed, yet they're smart and have a future in front of them. They need to understand that their voice counts.