The Burning of American Democracy

I have been trying to figure out how to express my thoughts and feelings regarding the events which transpired between President Zelenskyy and Trump. It is tough because I still struggle with major depressive disorder (MDD). My MDD stems from the myriad of health issues I developed during my time serving in the military: chronic pain, chronic fatigue, polyneuropathy, loss of feeling in my feet and hand, and the random body jerks I have. It all led me down a dark and winding road. However, I managed to get it in check and now it seems that another issue is trying to stoke the embers: communistic fascism.

You will not find much on a definition for “communistic fascism” if you look it up. The best you will find is red fascism, which was used during the Cold War era¹. It was used to describe Stalin’s communism (Stalinism) along with a combination of fascism. Today, in the United States of America, we are in the midst of a transition from a democratic republic to a communistic fascist regime. I feel it is important to point out the different types of governmental regimes² we have alive in the world today so you can see the differences. This will also help make the argument about communistic fascism.

Socialism is the belief that citizens can own property and businesses, but the government controls utilities such as water, electricity, telephones, gas, etc. Wealth is distributed amongst the citizens such that classes in society are equal. Taxes are generally high in socialism to allow the government to fund social programs for the citizens, staple goods, like groceries, are regulated by the government to make them, essentially, affordable to all classes, and healthcare is free to all citizens with the government running healthcare. You can see why many look at the Democratic Party in the United States as leaning towards socialism. A lot of these ideals make sense and one could argue both sides of the spectrum.

Capitalism, which is what we fall under in the United States, is a belief rooted primarily in free and open markets which allow the citizens to own property and businesses with little restriction from the government. You can open a restaurant and the money you earn is yours, and yours alone, less the taxes you owe to local and federal governments. In a capitalistic society, everything is driven by supply, demand, and market values, to include goods, services, and healthcare. The government limits itself in these areas to provide for a free market and the ability for competition to exist between producers. The aspect of limited government is where the Trump administration has set it sights, as we have seen in the media over the past six weeks. Government agencies have been shuttered, funding shut down, and employees fired left and right. We’ll come back to socialism and capitalism shortly.

Communism is built on the foundation of a ruling class and the belief that everyone below the ruling class are equal. Only the ruling class can own property and have wealth and the ruling dictator decides how to redistribute the wealth among the lower class. China, Russia, and North Korea are communist nations. All of the wealth generated by their citizens are given back to the government and then distributed as the head of state sees fit. Taxes are very high to keep the wealth in the lower class down and pad the pockets of the ruling dictator and healthcare is distributed unevenly among the citizens such that the poor suffer when they cannot afford it. Essentially, everything is controlled by the government: the price of groceries, cost of gas, cost of healthcare, etc.

Fascism is the belief, under a dictator, in a sense of nationalism. Nazi Germany was a vile and extreme version of fascism where Hitler “cleansed” the German population of Jews in favor of a radicalized view of Christianity. Under fascism, citizens can own property and small businesses but the government controls all other aspects of life to include utilities and prices set to form a firm, defined class structure. Taxes under fascism are extremely high and used primarily to maintain the militaristic might of the dictator and healthcare is free to all citizens as long as you obey the nationalistic beliefs of the dictator. Fascism is essentially an extreme first cousin of communism, as it shares some ideals with communism but the focus is on preserving nationalistic views with a large, strong military to support it.

With all of that background, how do I see the United States transitioning to a “communistic fascism” regime? Trump’s (I refused to give him the title President; he hasn’t earned it) first eight weeks in office have shown the American people his true colors. He is clearly aligned with Vladamir Putin, praising the Russian ruler several times, and has weaponized his cabinet, federal law enforcement agencies, the entire executive branch, and is doing his damnedest to weaponize the judiciary. I will not go so far as to say that Congress has been weaponized but, just as he is doing with the judiciary, he is trying like hell to use the Republican control of the House of Representatives and United States Senate to bow to him and do his bidding. After passage of the continuing resolution on Friday, I think they may already have done so.

Trump’s actions are alarming. He is threatening to jail people who voice their opinions against him, people who protest Tesla dealerships because the stock price has been dropping like a brick in the Marianas Trench, and Federal District judges who are upholding the rule of law and the Constitution. Yet, at the same time, he praises the actions of the rioters on January 6, 2020, the actions of New York Mayor Eric Adams, and the actions of Russia agains the Ukrainians. It is appalling that we have a man at the helm who does not give two shits about democracy or the Constitution. He is a business man looking to make the best deal and, if 34 felony counts says anything about him, he will do anything, ANYTHING, to get it.