Two Problems

Problem #1

People of my political persuasion keep saying, "That is not who we are." I agree with that idea but the question remains, "Who are we really?" I am afraid that the "we" is very ambiguous. The "we" has been a progressive movement that has sought to move the country into a state of tolerance for racial justice, sexual freedom, etc. But the "we" as in "who we are" --- the actual USA --- is very different, as we have learned in the last two years. It may be that when Trump boasts about the women he has abused, loves dictators around the world, lies and cheats, and orders immigrant families to be criminalized and separated, that IS who we are --- as a nation, that is.

Problem #2

Many of us keep observing that the German people accepted Hitler's Nazism too easily but begin to see, under Trump, how easy it is. All of that is sad but true. The really important issue, however, is how to get out from under Fascism once it has progressed. I cannot think of a country in recent history that has gotten out from under Fascism once it became a fact. The Spanish tried and failed (even with outside help). In the cases of recent history, it took the rest of the world to come and rescue them. And "rescue them" looks a little optimistic when you look at what happened to the Germans and the Japanese as a consequence. The lesson is that the people under Fascism wind up being blamed for their regimes and pay a big price.