Fascism

I think Fascism is more often than not a form of government that only rises out of nations in dire straits. Looking through history, fascist regimes never come out of places that are doing well. I think the appeal of extreme nationalism and the pride aspect is something that people look to when they are fed up with the status quo that they are in. People who get swept up in fascist rhetoric seem to be allowing their emotions to get the better of them. They succumb to their anger, to their fear, to their resentment, and to their desire to fight against all of the things they believe are a detriment to them and their nation. Hitler and Mussolini came to power by promising to restore their respective nations and to bring them into greatness. I think that the people that helped them come to power did truly believe the propaganda that they had heard and they truly believed that what they were doing was right, but what they didn't do was truly look into what they were bringing about. There are many frightening things about fascism. Anti intellectualism always seems to be a factor in the rise of extremism and I think that it is the cornerstone of the movements that really allow it to flourish. The demonization of knowledge coupled with the intense nationalism seems to be purposefully designed to keep the followers in the dark and that's precisely why it had come around as we've seen throughout history. One thing that does give me hope, however, is that I sincerely doubt that fascism will ever become mainstream in my country. The ideals of fascism are fundamentally incompatible with the ideals of the United States of America. Even though we have seen small movements crop up here and there, the overwhelming majority of Americans see these for what they are; toxic. The fact that so many people had come to protest events such as those in Charleston just goes to show that fascism is like an infection, but the protestors of the events are a lot like white blood cells combating that infection. Fascism is only appealing to the closed minded. It only catches on with people who are willfully ignorant and unable to allow themselves to see anything about the idea with anything but rose colored glasses. Fascism is of course a frightening concept, but I believe firmly that as long as good people refuse to sit by and let it take hold, it never will. Also, I believe that it is crucial to teach about the horrors of fascism in the past, lest we fall into the same pitfall in the future.