At least in Margaret Atwood’s novel the radical religious terrorists used guns to overthrow our government.
In the real version we’re literally electing them to office. I feel that not enough folks read The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.
They’re taking over state and local legislatures, councils and boards.
Christian Nationalists and Dominionists are absolutely a threat to our democracy.
They’ve had this plan for decades and now they’re enacting it. This is a clear and present danger.
@bleakfuture Well said with accuracy and eloquence.
If only we had quoted posts, I'd QP this sucker all year.
@wyre @bleakfuture I'd have more confidence in that sentiment if people hadn't said the exact same thing in the late 1930s.
The idea that something won't happen because it's terrible is what allows it to happen.
@CorvidCrone @wyre when I typed collateral damage that’s what I was referring to.
There were a lot of monsters during WWII - we weren’t immune from that. We put Japanese Americans into camps.
@bleakfuture @wyre I was referring to Wyre's behind that they will ultimately fail.
The fascists might have lost the war, but they didn't go away and their ideas are like stubborn invasive weeds that keep popping back up.
@CorvidCrone exactly. I also replied and sort of mentioned the same.
I do believe fascism is like the monster from IT. You can’t really kill it, you just have to beat the shit out of it when you encounter it.
And be vigilant - it will return.
@wyre @bleakfuture obviously they're not going to just go away.
I disagree that their predecessors' ideas failed, because there is a direct through line from the first fascists to the present ones.
@CorvidCrone @bleakfuture @wyre
We can thank the failures of reconstruction after the civil war, oh and don't forget Operation Paperclip that imported "just the smart" Nazis after WWII.
@gavinisdie if we aren’t I’m not super sure how we end up avoiding it. 74 million people went out of their way to fully embrace it in 2020 and are showing zero signs of knowing better now.
That’s the scariest part. A whole hell of a lot of us are leaning into it. In the early days of the Nazi party I get it. Germany had been shoved around, disarmed and was grounded due to bad behavior. It’s natural to lash out.
Here things are honestly pretty damn good - and still they gnash their teeth.
@bleakfuture If you want something even more comprehensive than The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, the first volume of the Third Reich Trilogy by Sir Richard Evans is probably the best I’ve read on how the Nazi’s came to power and really looking at the underlying causes that allowed Nazism to take hold in Germany. The title sums it up perfectly:
The Coming of the Third Reich: How the Nazis Destroyed Democracy and Seized Power in Germany
Good recommendation. Alan Bullock's biography of Hitler is also still considered a leading work. Shirer's "Rise and Fall" is popular, but is pretty much discredited by historians. Shirer himself was a journalist, not a historian. He jumps to unsupported conclusions and has been criticized by many for regarding homosexuality as a "perversion."
In our present situation, it is certainly important to read _something_ about how the Nazis and Hitler came to power. What shocked me about it most was that it was 100% legal. No coup, no putsch, no revolution. By the book.
Now, it would be fair to say early 20th century Germany wasn't nearly the pro-democracy society ours is today. Authoritarianism wasn't as abhorrent, maybe. But still, we all need to know how easily dictators can rise, particularly legally.
@stevensrmiller @OldHound I’m still shocked at the Trump presidency tbh.
The outrages came so rapidly on top of each other that within maybe 4 months my outrage processing faculties had more or less shut down and I just felt an overall malaise and anxiety.
I think that’s maybe another effective way to do it - the populace just gets fatigued at politics in general and focuses on The Bachelor and making sure their kids get showered and fed. Except the loonies. They’re still at work.
The most important thing we can do is WORK TO GET OUT THE VOTE. Collectively, US voters have never surpassed 60+% turnout, and that number has only been reached in a few presidential-year elections.
@bleakfuture I really dislike being "that" person...but, I'm going to be that person...
In the book, the radicalized religious nutters had actually taken over local elected offices first. Including the Presidency, and he dismissed Congress on the grounds of National Security, which allowed him to declare martial law.
Which actually makes what's happening now, even more distressing. 😖
@julescelt01 I appreciate you being that person. There’s no shame in being correct if you’re kind about - which you are.
I haven’t read it in 26 years so the show gets mixed in my head.
My daughter and I are doing a podcast about banned books in school libraries and this is the first book we’re reading.
@bleakfuture
are there any atheists in elected office anywhere?
I mean openly atheist, not all the fake christians
@dbc3 very very few if any.
Barney Frank was an outspoken atheist - can’t think of any others.
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