Tag Archives: fascism

Irony abounds in this political debate

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

As I watch and listen to the contemporary political debate, I am struck by the profound irony I see and hear almost daily.

It slaps me in the puss, punches me in the gut, gnaws at my innards.

Here’s what I mean.

I listen to those on the far right fringes of our nation’s political spectrum proclaim their “patriotism,” their “love of country” and their devotion to the Constitution. Then I see the occasional image of these “patriots” standing under a Confederate flag. Or they lambaste the movement known as “Antifa,” which — as you might know — is a sort of short-hand for “anti-fascist.”

The irony? Well, the first ironic notion is obvious, given that the Confederacy stands as the nation’s most profound enemy of the state. The Confederate States of American seceded from the Union and went to war to protect the institution of slavery within those states.

In recent times, of course, many of us has awakened to what the Confederacy really represented: treason against the United States of America. Statues of Confederate soldiers have come down. Americans have rioted to protest their removal. A president of the United States tried to make excuses for their riotous behavior by referring to “fine people … on both sides” of a riot that included Klansmen and Nazis.

That dovetails into the second profound irony of this real-time debate. Antifa has become a four-letter word. It is used in some circles as an epithet meant to demonize those who speak out against police brutality or seek justice for those who have been mistreated by rogue cops.

The root of the term Antifa, though, is what brings this irony into sharp focus for me. Let us never forget that The Greatest Generation of Americans went to war against fascism. The German Nazis who, along with their Italian partners, sought to subjugate Europe under the heavy hand of fascism. They were joined by their tyrants in Japan, who dragged this country into the world’s bloodiest war. My own father was one of those young Americans who left the comforts of their home and went to war against the fascists.

Yes, Dad was an Antifa member.

I simply cannot let this irony go without offering this comment on its hideous nature in this current political debate.

It sickens me.

More shallow idiocy from POTUS

Check out this image from a meeting today that the president of the United States had with small business leaders.

He was talking to them about his “zero tolerance” policy, the one that allows children to be taken from their parents at the border. Donald Trump equated all illegal entrants into the United States with vicious gang members intent on bring death and destruction to this country.

He made no mention, of course, of those who are fleeing persecution in their own country or their pursuit of a better life in the Land of Opportunity.

Then to show how much he loves the nation he was elected to govern, the president decided to hug the flag. Yep. He hugged Old Glory. He wrapped the Stars and Stripes in his arms in some sort of childish demonstration of his patriotic fervor.

He made me laugh. Out loud.

A quote from the famed author Sinclair Lewis has been making the rounds, in which he said, “When Fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a bible.”

That’s a big harsh, in my view.

However, the president’s shallow demonstration — with that goofy flag hugging routine — while it plays well to his base, illustrates a level of superficiality I’ve never seen in the Leader of the Free World.

Until now.