I've been trying to figure out all this fascist insanity going on. I've read three books I recommend you read to figure it out with some hope. The way out first is I think well identified in Thomas M. Nichol's OUR OWN WORST ENEMY. The way in to where we are I think is best understood by two books written by House Impeachment Managers: MIDNIGHT IN WASHINGTON by Rep. Adam Schiff and UNTHINKABLE by Rep. Jamie Raskin.
Schiff's book is a massively chronicled detailing of all the evidence of Trump's betrayal of America in the Ukrainian saga attempting to secure dirt on President Biden's family for political/campaign advantage and all the players complicit with him in that effort and the integrity filled story of how your Congress worked to secure legitimately secured evidence of that abuse of power.
Raskin's book reveals massive evidence of Trump's betrayal of the country that enabled all his personal financial success and resulting influence over the gullible among us. Here the impeachment centered on the Trump lead insurrection effort leading up to, including and continuing after the January 6 attack on democracy, our Capitol and duly elected government leaders. Raskin identified in this book the three rings of the insurrection. He details the three rings as the protesters feeding the riot, the outer ring. The middle ring, the insurrection itself. And the inner ring, the plotters and executors of the first failed Jan. 6 and future planned coups.
Nichols provides some well researched historical examples of un-engaged citizenry in communities in Italy and Utah and their parallels to the more recent America as we know it with what he describes as clannish self interest and disengagement from civic participation and abandonment of the idea of the common good influenced by libertarianism and our extreme cultural prioritization of individuality over community cooperation. This trend was identified in the 90's by researchers as cocooning. The evidence has been clear Nichols observes with our historic low voter participation and a prevailing attitude expressed by many including my own family members as "fuck politics".
I will not be a spoiler regarding Nichol' solutions. I want you to join me in reading his book to formulate your own solutions to restoring our democracy which takes hard work compared to autocratic governance. Reliance on authoritarian leaders looks to autocrats to do the work, not the citizenry. Under fascist autocracy history tells us, citizens are willing to forego their personal agency and impede the freedom of others in their interest not to be bothered with the work of self-governing a community and nation, excepting their own family which they proclaim is their preferred lifestyle.
