Being Afraid...a Warning
It's a bright- if muggy- Sunday here in the Piedmont of North Carolina, and after a lovely worship service at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, I am sitting in my favorite chair, catching up on emails and snail mail correspondence (yes, I am one of those Luddites who still enjoys writing letters and sending cards), while trying to restore my sense of equilibrium and well-being. You see, I've been reading the new book by Madeleine Albright, Fascism- A Warning, and I must confess to feeling anything but stabilized right now.
Albright is both an intelligent writer and a good historian, presenting the reader with a history of Fascism and the Fascist leaders in our century who turned the world on its head. Fascinating, I must say. But the very destabilizing part for me is the ways in which I am seeing reflected our own day
and time, both here in the United States and worldwide. You see, I have never, ever been an alarmist... have never subscribed to conspiracy theories...never been a fear-monger of any sort. In fact, I have done my level best to not contribute in any way to the collective fear which seems to have gripped our nation in my lifetime, preferring instead to remain optimistic about the state of our democracy and our role in the world as spokesperson for the ways in which democracy permits the people of a nation to speak and be heard. Never, that is, until now.
True confessions, here...for the first time in my adult life, I am afraid: afraid for our nation, for
our constitution, for our democratic form of government, for the freedom of our press. I am afraid
for our planet, as climate change continues to wreak havoc across the globe, while governments-
far too many governments, including our own- refuse to acknowledge that this is indeed the most
pressing problem with which we as a species are being faced. Wild fires burn in California, in
Brazil, in Siberia, while the polar ice cap melts and huge portions of the ice of Antarctica are
breaking off, causing sea levels to rise. Our Congress seems hell-bent on not doing anything for
the actual benefit of the people of this nation who are in need, focusing on a few non-issues for
most of us like abortion and the right to have guns, while our infrastructure crumbles and people
go bankrupt trying to pay for health care and the education system founders. And the man in the White House, the man elected by 46% of about 56% of the vote, (voter turnout was estimated at
55.7 % of the eligible electorate. Shame on us.) continues to drive a wedge between Democrats
and Republicans, between the Right and the Left, instead of seeing it as his duty to unify the
country around issues which really matter to the person on the street, or on the farm, or in the
fields, or in the factory.
Admittedly, I am no constitutional expert. In fact, in this, my sixth or seventh recent reading of that document, I find myself increasingly confused about what it actually says, in many cases. But to
have a man at the head of our government who has likely not read our founding document even once is very distressing to me. And to have scores of my neighbors in this nation I love continue to support someone who blatantly lies and thrives on stirring up enmity and making enemies of our friends, all the while appealing to his supporters to follow him, no matter what, causes a frisson of
fear to run down my back as I read Albright's book. For I see in her descriptions of the tactics of Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin far too many reflections of those of our own commander-in-chief,
far too many similarities to the tactics employed to take over their respective nations in the name of "what's good for the people."
No, I am not trying to divide us still further, dear friends. I am only trying to open some eyes, perhaps...to encourage deep and constructive thinking. Trying to raise awareness of the very real
dangers which are both lurking around the edges of our constitutional democracy and are daring to step out in clear sight. And I am encouraging every one of you, every one of us, to register and to vote in the 2020 election. I don't think I'm overstating things when I say that the fate of our very democracy is at stake.
Albright is both an intelligent writer and a good historian, presenting the reader with a history of Fascism and the Fascist leaders in our century who turned the world on its head. Fascinating, I must say. But the very destabilizing part for me is the ways in which I am seeing reflected our own day
and time, both here in the United States and worldwide. You see, I have never, ever been an alarmist... have never subscribed to conspiracy theories...never been a fear-monger of any sort. In fact, I have done my level best to not contribute in any way to the collective fear which seems to have gripped our nation in my lifetime, preferring instead to remain optimistic about the state of our democracy and our role in the world as spokesperson for the ways in which democracy permits the people of a nation to speak and be heard. Never, that is, until now.
True confessions, here...for the first time in my adult life, I am afraid: afraid for our nation, for
our constitution, for our democratic form of government, for the freedom of our press. I am afraid
for our planet, as climate change continues to wreak havoc across the globe, while governments-
far too many governments, including our own- refuse to acknowledge that this is indeed the most
pressing problem with which we as a species are being faced. Wild fires burn in California, in
Brazil, in Siberia, while the polar ice cap melts and huge portions of the ice of Antarctica are
breaking off, causing sea levels to rise. Our Congress seems hell-bent on not doing anything for
the actual benefit of the people of this nation who are in need, focusing on a few non-issues for
most of us like abortion and the right to have guns, while our infrastructure crumbles and people
go bankrupt trying to pay for health care and the education system founders. And the man in the White House, the man elected by 46% of about 56% of the vote, (voter turnout was estimated at
55.7 % of the eligible electorate. Shame on us.) continues to drive a wedge between Democrats
and Republicans, between the Right and the Left, instead of seeing it as his duty to unify the
country around issues which really matter to the person on the street, or on the farm, or in the
fields, or in the factory.
Admittedly, I am no constitutional expert. In fact, in this, my sixth or seventh recent reading of that document, I find myself increasingly confused about what it actually says, in many cases. But to
have a man at the head of our government who has likely not read our founding document even once is very distressing to me. And to have scores of my neighbors in this nation I love continue to support someone who blatantly lies and thrives on stirring up enmity and making enemies of our friends, all the while appealing to his supporters to follow him, no matter what, causes a frisson of
fear to run down my back as I read Albright's book. For I see in her descriptions of the tactics of Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin far too many reflections of those of our own commander-in-chief,
far too many similarities to the tactics employed to take over their respective nations in the name of "what's good for the people."
No, I am not trying to divide us still further, dear friends. I am only trying to open some eyes, perhaps...to encourage deep and constructive thinking. Trying to raise awareness of the very real
dangers which are both lurking around the edges of our constitutional democracy and are daring to step out in clear sight. And I am encouraging every one of you, every one of us, to register and to vote in the 2020 election. I don't think I'm overstating things when I say that the fate of our very democracy is at stake.
Comments
Post a Comment