As a student in Lakeland High School in the 1960s I was
required to take a course on Americanism versus Communism. I didn’t mind the
course, though it required that I get up an hour early and sit in an auditorium
listening to a lecture by an ill-prepared teacher try to explain why American
democracy was better than communism. And I still believe that it is. It is also
better than Fascism, though we were not required to take an Americanism versus Fascism
class. I think such a course should have been required.
Speaking of Communist authoritarianism, I believe it’s important to distinguish China’s authoritarian government from China’s people, about whom I have many happy memories form my time in that country. J. D. Vance doesn’t get this distinction as was shown by his recent insulting remarks against the Chinese. His comments were not only insulting, but also crude and stupid. On top of this, they served the Chinese government’s purpose by helping them promote the idea that American is an evil and dangerous enemy to China. My god, J. D., what were you thinking?
Back to my main point. Why isn’t Americanism versus Fascism taught in our schools? The short answer is that a lot of super-wealthy Americans with Fascist leanings would like us to remain ignorant about how they have slurped up so much of our nation’s wealth. They want to use this wealth to bend political leaders to their will. And do so at our expense. Understanding Fascism means understanding how Germany’s corporate interests lined up behind Hitler as he rose to power. That is something people like Trump and Musk want us to remain ignorant about.
The essence of Fascism is rule by those who use money and threats of violence to support selfish bullies. It is a simple formula, one used by ordinary thugs like Al Capone. How would it be to have someone with Capone’s character in the Oval Office? I’m afraid we are now finding that out.
Al Capone: Prototypical Fascistic Thug
Abraham Lincoln expressed the meaning of Americanism in his Gettysburg Address in which he embraced the ideal of a government “of, by, and for the people.” Not the rich people, not the white people, not the native-born people, but all the people. I believe Trump would try to ban Lincoln’s inspirational address because of its implicit DEI message. That is, if he ever read and understood it, neither of which is likely to be the case.
When Trump approached the vicinity of the Gettysburg battlefield during the 2020 campaign, he chose to focus not on Lincoln’s famous speech, but on his own bizarre misrepresentation of Pickett’s Charge, saying, “Never fight uphill, me boys.” Like most fascists, Trump is not a fan of Lincoln nor of the ideals expressed in the Gettysburg Address. His approach to governance is like Al Capone’s approach to mob thuggery. The only important thing is the power to force everyone to submit to the leader.
Fascism on a national scale is always strengthened when the leader can scare the populace by claiming that others – Haitians, Mexicans, immigrants, and so on – are “not like us” and therefore a threat to us.
Standing beside the thuggish Trump is Elon Musk, “the world’s creepiest billionaire.” His usefulness to Trump comes from his access to wealth and his control of a big chunk of social media. Fascists, like Communists, seek to control a nation’s media and its institutions of education as a way of convincing people that their outrageous lies are actually solid truths. Our nation is being led down a dark and undemocratic path by our Fascistic leaders. I’m not sure a course on Americanism versus Fascism could have prevented the rise of people like Trump and Musk, but I’m pretty sure it would have helped.
So, come on, Governor DeSantis, let’s let Florida take the lead in teaching Americanism versus Fascism in high school! Oh wait. Never mind. I forgot who I was talking to.
