Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial by Peter K Burian, image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. [1]
We commemorate the Allied Invasion of Normandy today, and we remember the dead, called “losers” by the current POTUS.
In 2020 half of MAGA supporters were over 65— no spring chickens. That implies that half of them were born in 1955 or earlier. Are they the baby-boomer offspring, or close relatives, perhaps, of Americans who fought fascism in WWII? Those soldiers lost over 400,000 killed and over 670,000 wounded.
Have MAGA supporters betrayed the “Greatest Generation” by adopting and/or supporting fascist behavior? Evidence of fascist U S government behavior is all around us:
1. Instilling fear in the population to suppress dissent.
2. Attacking public institutions, such as Congress, the press, and university students.
3. Suppressing voter registration & intimidating Congress to promote a one-party state.
4. Proliferation of swastikas, and confederate and KKK symbols.
5. Blatant lack of professional ethics by GOP.
6. Militarization of government agencies such as the police, FBI, Border Patrol, DHS, etc.
7. Use of military and violent terms in addressing the opposition.
8. Illegal of use of force such as kidnapping of perceived undocumented people.
9. Widespread use of propaganda mottoes and memes.
10. Spinning information to create distrust in truth, such as the “fake news” meme.
11. Use of Russia and other agents of disinformation in official government reports.
12. Creating an atmosphere of mistrust by declaring that America is under attack.
13. Condemning peaceful protests.
14. DOGE stealing confidential citizen information.
15. Withdrawing support of public services and institutions, e.g., PBS, NPR, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, IRS.
16. Isolating the US from the world community such as NATO allies.
17. Using the term “terrorism” to justify illegal arrests, suppression of habeas corpus and invasion of legislators’ offices.
18. Dismantling the separation of church and state. Undermining the separation of powers built into the U S Constitution.
19. Proliferation of corruption in the Executive Branch.
20. Falsely promoting the inevitability of autocracy in the USA.
What do you think? What are we prepared to do?
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References of interest:
No, I don't think that those who fought, did so 'in vain.' Indeed, all of them are to be respected for their efforts, regardless of circumstance or whether volunteers or conscripts.
The times *are* different today - they are, in some respects, even worse than when those soldiers fought to rid the World of National Socialism and its specific notion of a 'Master Race.'
What is the same is that humanity, as a collective, has learned little or perhaps even nothing from the tragedy and devastation of the Great War, which was supposed to end all war and the World War II which was yet another example of a self-aggrandising dictator, manipulating the mass of a people with populist propaganda, false promises and ego-inflating callousness. Since that time, not a few have continued such dictatorial manipulation, oppression and brutality.
However, directly after the end of WWII there was hope and clear desire across the World for peace, the solving of national and international disputes through discussion and compromise rather than might, and the protection of civilians when such diplomacy failed and armed conflict occurred. The establishment of the United Nations mirrored a moment in history when humanity had faced a very brutal truth of a 'close encounter' of a *real* kind and universal horror at the enormity of conflict, destruction and death had, for at least a short time, broken through the falsity of 'might is right' or 'national pride (read arrogance).'
Unfortunately - (I wish I knew how to give that word much increased emphasis) - the lesson was not well learned and the insanity which apparently infests humanity, reared its ugly head once again with unseemly speed.
Now, we live in a time of continuing and ever present armed conflict. It is a time when the supposed bastion of the ‘Free World’ has committed many incursions, even invasions, of other nations and used its might, without reserve, sacrificing both its own and other peoples to satisfy its avarice for assets and wealth with which to enrich its already wealthy and powerful controllers. Indeed, extraordinarily, the USA has even fallen for the populist manipulation of a manic and insane psychopath, not dissimilar to Hitler, who has used it to feed his own ego and corrupt self-interest, such that he has twice been elected to the position of President of, arguably, the mightiest nation in the World.
This ascension of Trump has in very short time seen a complete disregard for the United Nations, for erstwhile stalwart allies, for human compassion and assistance to those in most need, for intellectual rigour, for cherished institutions, for human rights, for social justice, for justice itself and for all of the very principles for which the USA has presumed to stand.
5 times now, it has vetoed Security Council resolutions to bring to an end Israel’s brutal genocidal destruction of Gaza and the Palestinian people. Not only has the USA funded and armed Israel since its spurious and fraudulent creation but it now praises and supports yet another autocratic and racial hating regime which seeks to exterminate another people.
Trump and the USA Administration could have given truth to the notion of ‘Making America Great Again’ by acting appropriately to halt the illegal treatment of the Palestinian people by Israel and to ensure the creation of a free state for those people. It could almost certainly have brought a halt to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by the use of strong sanctions and stand with Ukraine in order to bring Putin to the table and work out a peaceful settlement that would safeguard the interests of both nations. Instead, Trump has acted with all the insanity and arrogance of dictatorial demagogues past and present.
However, those who died in Normandy and elsewhere during that last World War, would not have supported this American President of today. Nor did they fight with the remotest expectation that their homeland would become subject to the sort of autocratic insanity and disrespect for humanity that now exists there.
So, it may seem that they fought in vain but that is to displace their efforts in time and ignore their reasons and aims in fighting. They fought to remove dictators not to install them.
I am not one for platitudes or cliche´s but in my view, those who fought in the two World Wars would ‘turn in their graves’, if they could, at what has happened to the World, in spite of their sacrifice.
I am not religious but, if there is a God, then God bless them, for those who fought back then did so to save and, as much as it may be paradoxical, they fought for peace & harmony across the World, rather than discontent and division. To suggest that they fought in vain is to ignore what they gave and why they fought. That humanity has not learned from their sacrifice and model is an indictment on humanity, not on them. Any failing is of those of us who have followed and failed to follow their example. That the USA now has a president who speaks of them as fools, is a testament to his unsuitability for office and his despicable character. He is a blight on right, freedom, democracy and humanity and the meanest of those who fought were far and above more deserving of plaudits than he has ever been or remains. The one positive I can salvage is that they don't have to witness what has become of a once proud nation.
I'm so proud of Angelinos fighting in downtown LA all day into tonight.
Republicans have betrayed our country, they are guilty of all 20 of these violations.