A Liberal leaning neighbour gave me a book about Fascism. Lots of angst on the Left that America is heading toward a fascist state under President Trump. So here I am reading “FASCISM: A Warning” by Madeleine Albright.
For some background: Albright’s extended family was incinerated during the Holocaust. Her father got her immediate family out just in time. After the war, having spent six years in exile, they returned to their home in Czechoslovakia and were forced to flee again when Communism came knocking in 1948. Keep that in mind as you read this article.
The book is 245 pages long. Spoiler alert. On page 246, Albright Writes ”The shadow looming over these pages, is, of course, Donald Trump” On page 252, Albright tells us that she had been working on this project on Fascism for some time.
“Had Donald Trump not been elected president I would still have embarked on this work, for it is a project I conceived with the thought of lending momentum to democracy during Hillary Clinton’s first term. Trump’s election added to my sense of urgency.” (Democracy under Hillary. The DNC bought and paid for a fake dossier on Donald Trump to try and prevent his election and then interfere with his administration after that).
Albright writes:
“…I believe that Fascism and Fascist policies pose a more virulent threat to international freedom, prosperity and peace at any time since WWII.”
She defines a Fascist as “ someone who claims to speak for a whole nation or group, is utterly unconcerned with the rights of others, and is willing to use violence and whatever other means are necessary to achieve the goals he or she might have… a Fascist will likely be a tyrant, but a tyrant need not be a Fascist.”
For her, the United States, which historically championed the free world, is now led by a president who exacerbates division and heaps scorn on democratic institutions.
Trump, she writes, is “the first antidemocratic president in US history”. He “flaunts his disdain for democratic institutions, the ideals of equality and social justice, civil discourse, civic virtues, and America itself”. He is one of a kind with such tinpot dictators as “Maduro, Erdoğan, Putin, Orbán, Duterte and – the sole example among them of a true fascist – Kim Jong-un”.
Ms Albright, though, is a fan of Bill Clinton, George Bush and of course Barack Obama.She fears that under Trump (she published the book in 2018), she no longer recognizes America. And she shares those fears about Trump’s turning inward, caring more about Americans than people of other countries. She fears he is leaving the Global stage and is breaking with allies. Turning on the Iran treaty, naming Jerusalem as the Jewish capital for the Jewish state. This coming from a Holocaust survivor. Yet, she stood with Obama who put Israel under a bus when he refused to veto UN Resolution 2334 that took away the Jewish status of Jerusalem and the Western Wall. Obama gave billions to Iran, in small bills, for a treaty that was supposed to stop the buildup of nuclear weapons but didn’t stop Iran from paying cash to spread terror all over the Middle East, North Africa and terrorists all over the world. And, it seems, build up her atomic weapons.
Let’s take a look at more facts on the ground regarding the Trump administration compared to accusations and innuendos by Albright.
The Trump administration is pushing international nuclear inspectors to launch a new investigation into evidence Iran has been stockpiling nuclear weapons technology and materials at a secret undisclosed site, according to U.S. officials who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon. Trump is not alone. France has concerns about Iran as well.
While pundits and politicians accuse Trump of cozying up to Russia, it seems, as Trump stated, Germany is the problem, supporting the Russian economy by buying oil from Russia. Should America stand with Germany? And when the European Union refuses to increase sanctions on Iran which are crippling the economy and hopefully will bring down the leadership, should Trump stand with the EU or stand with the people of Iran?
What about Trump and Turkey, a NATO member.
Trump has increased tariffs on steel and aluminium against Turkey because of their treatment of Pastor Brunsen, held in jail as a spy. Should Trump still stand with his “allies”? Trump holds dictators to account for harming Americans. Trump brought home prisoners from North Korea without paying a ransom. This after he brought home Otto Warmbier, when Obama had done nothing.
Fascists also take over the democratic institutions and destroy them. Attacking the military and the media can undermine freedom. Albright fears Trump. Let’s talk about her favourite, President Obama.
Obama micro managed the military. He seemed to know better than his Generals. That tends to be the view of fascist leaders. “You know, the president is quoted as having said at one point to his staff, ‘I can do every one of your jobs better than you can,'” said former secretary of defense Robert Gates, who served under eight presidents, and told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” in 2016.
More than half of troops surveyed in the Military Times/Institute for Veterans and Military Families poll said they have an unfavourable opinion of Obama and his two-terms leading the military.
Ex-defense secretaries are amongst secretaries among toughest critics of Obama’s military strategy
Yet, Trump does not tell his generals what to do. Who’s the potential fascist?
Fascists control the media to control the message.
Alan Bloom wrote:
“The most successful tyranny is not one that uses force to assure uniformity but the one that removes awareness of other possibilities…that makes it seem inconceivable that other ways are viable, that removes the sense that there is an outside.”
If Trump is a fascist he is doing a terrible job of controlling the media or their message.
It has been a pattern since President Trump was inaugurated well over a year ago. Coverage of the White House on the “Big Three” broadcast networks — ABC, CBS and NBC — remains 91 percent negative, according to a new study by the Media Research Center, which has been tracking the phenomenon since Mr. Trump hit the campaign trail in 2016.
This egregious bias could silence the President. But it doesn’t because this President shares his thoughts all the time. The good, the bad and the ugly. American citizens never have to ask what the President is thinking or doing. It’s out there in social media.
And if shutting down the media is a fascist act then the Left had better take a look at Europe. Not Trump.
Many Western European governments are prosecuting their own citizens for criticizing Islam or Muslims in, for example, Sweden, Germany and the UK.
In France it appears the PM Macron is trying his best to silence an opponent, Mme Le Pen and her party, his main opposition. It seems her comments might be the sign of a mental illness. She needs a psychiatric exam. Is this France or the Gulag?
Donald Trump has not squashed the news or put opponents on trial.
A Jewish survivor of the Holocaust, Madeleine Albright is standing with Barack Obama and laments the election of Trump over Hillary Clinton who backed Obama. She sees fascism in Trump, a man who has gone after tyrants like those in Iran and Turkey and North Korea, when Obama did not. She laments the negative comments and actions of Trump regarding Europe but says nothing about fascist actions taken by European leaders, especially regarding free speech and freedom of the press. Or their financial support of Russia and Iran.
Fascism exists Mme Albright. But not in Donald Trump. It lives and breathes in the values and practices of the Progressive left, their support of mob-rule, and as Bernard Goldberg wrote, Liberals behaving like Stalinists which opens the door to guilty until proven innocent:
“Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime.”
From the Ethics of the Fathers: “Rabbi Tarfon used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it.”
