The Power of Ideas
When I was in high school, we studied all the “-isms” — socialism, communism, totalitarianism, fascism. We read 1984 and Animal Farm and Brave New World. I remember wondering how anyone could stand by and allow their government to become so thoroughly evil. Didn’t the regular folks in Germany see what was happening before Hitler took power?
Now I’m beginning to understand.
MAGA is promising a better life for people who are struggling. They blame the educated elites for keeping the rest of the population down. Any movement needs a scapegoat. They magnify the concerns that they know are hot button issues — transgender athletes, abortion, immigration. Using these concerns as primary talking points makes liberal politicians look out of touch with the majority of Americans.
Behind the smokescreen, however, is a plan to consolidate power in an authoritarian political movement. We can see the basic elements: they want a centralized autocratic government, inhibition of any opposition, and belief that diversity, equity, and inclusion is wrong. They are already attempting to control the legal system by disobeying judicial rulings and trying to influence the flow of ideas by banning books. In international relations we see a “might makes right” strategy.
It is particularly difficult to know what to do when threats are abundant and the incumbent wields so much raw power. There are a range of effective strategies that can be employed to counter this fascist takeover of our country, some more onerous than others. I think the first thing that we can do is also the most effective long-term strategy. We need to educate ourselves and others. In this world of deep fakes and misinformation, all the lies need to be countered over and over again. This means putting the facts out wherever they are misrepresented. In local meetings and online, truth, justice, and compassion need to be repeated with stories of experience and backed up by experts. MAGA is already taking databases down to make some information harder to find and removing books from our schools. But you can’t kill an idea. (It is somehow appropriate that we just celebrated Easter.)
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
— Maya Angelou
The group that asserts that empathy is sinful simply doesn’t understand what Jesus stood for, or why he died. They have allowed nationalism to take over their faith. The ideas that really make a difference are the ones that Jesus espoused: love one another, care for the stranger, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It is our job to embody these values, even if we are not religious.
As events progress, should lawsuits and rallies make little difference, our choices may become more painful. Civil disobedience like strikes, boycotts and other actions have been successful in the past, but they require sacrifice and careful planning. It takes courage to walk down this path.
I hope we can find this courage as we embrace the ideas that have the power to enrich our lives.
So well stated! Thanks.