How we learned to embrace fascism.

 Here's the thing: Trump is a full blown fascist. He openly expresses a mindset and a morality that is unconscionable. It's normal, it's healthy, it's sane to oppose this guy and his growing troop of Brownshirts. But if you're just getting around to worrying about our country becoming a fascist state, you are at least two decades behind the reality. If you're just now getting around to being appalled, you haven't been paying any attention. A Hitler or a Trump don't "just happen." Millions of people don't just wake up one day and decide to embrace philosophies of hatred, racism, prejudice and privilege. That's a process, not a spur of the moment decision.By definition, the government of the United States is fascist. It is the union of corporate interests with state authority. Definitions that speak of a single tyrannical leader or the regimentation of all industry under governmental authority have been invented to keep us from seeing what is before us. Fascist ideals of Nationalism have been replaced with corporate ideals of Globalism, but the mechanism and the agenda remains the same.What happened is that we let things slide. We allowed the idea of moral equivalency to replace morality. We bought into the idea that compromise is a sign of maturity and intellect, even when the compromise is with pure evil. We bought into the idea that offending another, no matter how offensive their ideology might be, is in some way wrong. While transnational corporations completed the coup of government we became indoctrinated with the idea that political expediency is a given. So we stood by in silence as the government waged an illegal war for private interests across the globe. In conjunction with that we accepted that the enemy was a religious ideology, while we ignored the fact that throughout history the government has manufactured enemies in order to seek profit and resource control. No matter, the commies became the hippies who became the terrorists, all served up on platters of engineered hatred with a side dish of rationalization and a sauce of complacency. Trump happened when the government put Japanese Americans into detainment camps and we did nothing. Trump happened when the AUMF was passed, declaring preemptive war anywhere, anytime and we did nothing. Trump happened when Obama expanded that war and we did nothing. Trump happened when Congress consistently passed legislation that promoted and protected corporate interests above our own and we did nothing. Trump happened when Citizens United was passed and we did nothing. Trump happened when Congress gave away Native Lands to corporate interests and we did nothing. Trump happened when the police murder people of color and we do nothing.Trump happened when we allowed the electoral process to become meaningless and we did nothing. Trump happened when Free Speech Zones were established and we did nothing. Trump happened when The Patriot Act and the NDAA were passed and we did nothing.Trump happened when Wall Street and the Banks openly broke the law and we did nothing. Trump happened because we did nothing. Trump happened every time we chose the lesser evil.

Trump will keep happening, whether he wins or loses. Trump will be there in the other options we're given. Trump will be there when we rationalize those choices. Trump will be there when we trade small domestic privileges for death and horror in other lands. Trump will be there. in our corrupt electoral process. Trump is here, and he will continue to be here so long as we do nothing.