The Danger of Fascism in the United States

Human Wrongs Watch By John Scales Avery*

6 May 2016

The Indiana primary election, which took place on the 3rd of May, 2016, produced two results, one of which was hopeful, and the other, profoundly worrying.

Bernie Saunders wakened hopes for restoration of democracy in the US with a resounding win over the political oligarchy’s candidate, Hillary Clinton.

The other result gave rise to fears of fascism. Donald Trump won the Republican primary by a large majority. Ted Cruz dropped out of the race, and the Republican leadership declared Trump to be their party’s presidential candidate. 

There is a real danger that Donald Trump, who is not only xenophobic. Racist and hatemongering, but also misogynistic, wildly erratic and manifestly unqualified for the post, could be elected to the US Presidency in November.

It could happen in the following way. If the Democratic Party’s establishment succeeds in making Hillary Clinton their candidate, young voters and independents could become disillusioned. Without their support Hillary could lose to Trump.

By contrast, every recent public opinion poll shows that Bernie Sanders, the idealist and reformer, would win massively in a presidential race with Trump.

http://sourceplanet.net/politics/trump-vs-sanders-sanders-wins-in-every-poll/

It is impossible to listen to Donald Trump’s speeches without being reminded of the fascist dictators who took control of Europe in the 1930’s. His rhetoric is especially similar to that of Mussolini, who promised to “make Italy great again”, just as it was under the Roman Empire. In my opinion, it is correct to call Trump a fascist.

One wonders, however, whether Hillary Clinton might not also be called a fascist. She is in favor of the attempted US domination of the world through military force, and she is in favor of the US corporate oligarchy. Perhaps choosing between Hillary and Donald is like choosing which form of cancer is better for you.

In the 1930’s, when Hitler, Mussolini and Franco came to power in Europe, they did so against the background of serious economic stress which made voters desperate to find leaders who promised salvation. Today too, economic stress forms the background for a drift towards fascism.

This is not only true in the United States, but also in Europe, where an influx of refugees from war and climate change has produced xenophobia and racism.

Just as the rise of fascism in Europe in the 1930’s led to an all-destroying world war, so too today the threat of fascism is also a threat that all that we love will perish in a catastrophic global war, which today would be a thermonuclear inferno.

We all have a responsibility to work with dedication to avoid this threat. One of the most important things that we can do is to support the campaign of Bernie Sanders in every way possible, by financial contributions, social media posts, articles in the alternative media, telephone calls, conversations with friends, lobbying of superdeligates, and every other way that we can think of.

The threat of fascism is real. We must join hands and work with courage and dedication to avoid it.

Some suggestions for further reading:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article44584.htm 

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/35899-donald-trump-set-to-be-gop-nominee-despite-links-to-organized-crime

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/35896-sanders-dnc-chair-clash-over-democratic-party-inclusivity

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/04/opinion/its-donald-trumps-party-now.html?_r=0

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/05/04/why-must-trump-alternative-be-self-satisfied-complacent-democrats

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/05/04/bernie-sanders-wins-indiana-and-political-debate

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/05/04/5-reasons-bernie-sanders-wins-big-cruz-dropout

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/35914-tv-is-donald-s-free-trump-card-to-stoke-racism

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/35891-like-it-or-not-the-democratic-party-now-must-answer-to-millennials

http://www.truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/lucifer-is-out-of-the-presidential-race-conceding-to-the-chief-tour-guide-in-hell

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/may/04/climate-change-is-corroding-our-values-says-naomi-klein 

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/05/05/trump-unifier-are-hillary-clinton-and-neoconservatives-ready-join-forces

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/05/05/noam-chomsky-predicted-rise-trump-six-years-ago

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/05/05/which-democratic-party-bernie-sanders-and-fdrs-second-bill-rights

http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/why-bernie-sanders-is-staying-in-the-race

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/ordinary_voters_can_now_lobby_superdelegates_for_bernie_sanders_20160504#.VystgQ8dGA4.facebook

http://www.inquisitr.com/3062395/drop-out-hillary-campaign-to-dump-democratic-frontrunner-hillary-clinton-goes-viral-nearly-100k-tweets-to-dropouthillary/

—

*John Scales Avery, Ph.D., who was part of a group that shared the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize for their work in organizing the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, is a member of the TRANSCEND Network and Associate Professor Emeritus at the H.C. Ørsted Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

He is chairman of both the Danish National Pugwash Group and the Danish Peace Academy and received his training in theoretical physics and theoretical chemistry at M.I.T., the University of Chicago and the University of London.

He is the author of numerous books and articles both on scientific topics and on broader social questions. His most recent book is Civilization’s Crisis in the 21st Century http://www.learndev.org/dl/Crisis21-Avery.pdf.

Don’t miss these articles by John Scales Avery in Human Wrongs Watch:

Creating the Future

OPEC Oil and Climate Change

A Scientist Presses for Action on Many Fronts: A Review of The Need for a New Economic System by John Scales Avery

John Scales Avery – Collected Essays

Pharming

Culture, Education and Human Solidarity

The United States Drifts Towards Political Irresponsibilty

Paris: We Need System Change!

Paris and the Long-Term Future

We Must Stop the Madness of Brinkmanship

Paris, India, and Coal

Paris: A Sense of Proportions Is Urgently Needed

Debt Slavery

Book Review: Aurelio Peccei and Daisako Ikeda, “Before It Is Too Late”

The Need for a New Economic System – PART IX: a New Society, a New Social Contract, a New Way Life

The Need for a New Economic System – PART VIII: The Cooperative Movement

The Need for a New Economic System – PART VII: The Global Food Crisis

The Need for a New Economic System – PART VI: Adverse Effects of Globalization

The Need for a New Economic System – PART V: The Threats and Costs of War

The Need for a New Economic System – PART IV: Neocolonialism and Resource Wars

The Need for a New Economic System – Part III: Climate Change and the Urgent Need for Renewable Energy

The Need for a New Economic System – PART II: Entropy and Economics

The Need for a New Economic System – PART I : Limits to Growth

Israel, Iran and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Debt Slavery

Will the Real Issues Be Discussed in 2016?

Militarism’s Hostages

New Hope for Avoiding Catastrophic Climate Change

Exponential Growth

Albert Einstein, Scientist and Pacifist

“The Path to Zero: Dialogues on Nuclear Dangers”, by Richard Falk and David Krieger

Millay’s “Epitaph for the Race of Man” 

The Future of International Law (Part I)

The Future of International Law (Part II)

The Future of International Law (Part III)

Europe Must Not Be Forced Into a Nuclear War with Russia

Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Europe – The Dangers Are Very Great Today

Why Is the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons So Urgent?

Why Is the Military-Industrial Complex Sometimes Called “The Devil’s Dynamo”?

Of Reciprocity and Karma

Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand Is at Our Throats

Perpetual War

Kill or Be Killed… Or Both!

Does It Make Sense to Saw Off the Branch on Which You Are Sitting?

Blood for Oil – The Close Relationship Between Petroleum and War

**Photo: Donald Trump speaking at CPAC 2015 in Washington, DC. | Author: Gage Skidmore | Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. | Wikimedia Commons. 

2016 Human Wrongs Watch

Source: https://human-wrongs-watch.net/2016/05/06/the-danger-of-fascism-in-the-united-states/