Fascism: Forewarned Is Forearmed

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Fascism is generally seen as a far-right, authoritarian structuring of government under the control of a dictatorial leader.  It features a centralized autocracy that controls through an official force such as the military or police who suppress opposition to the government.   Fascist ideology is often propped up by group opposition to racial or other marginalized groups who are portrayed as enemies of the state.  Disagreement with those in control is not tolerated under fascist rule.
 
Generally speaking, a fascist government is a political setup where one person’s ideas prevail, and that leader does not react well to challenges to his policies or his rule.
 
There is, at present, a young man serving in Congress who is making quite a stir criticizing the governor of his home state and pointing out that many of the governor’s legislative aims appear to be fascist in nature.  The man stirring the pot is Maxwell Alejandro Frost.  Congressman Frost is a first term member of the US House of Representatives from Florida and a Democrat, who, at twenty-five, is the youngest member of the House.  The man whom Rep. Frost is accusing of having a fascist bent is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.  
 
This week in a televised interview with Jim Acosta of CNN, Rep. Frost talked about the steady “drumbeat” of proposed extremist legislation coming from the governor’s office which Frost sees as targeting Black, transgender, and LGBTQ people.  Congressman Frost notes that much of DeSantis’s legislative program is being pushed in the guise of improving education in the state, but Frost is arguing that the governor in not really focused on improving education, but rather has zeroed in on scapegoating vulnerable communities because of his own failures.
 
Over recent months DeSantis has sparked a major backlash of criticism by barring the teaching of Advanced Placement African American studies in the state’s school curriculum.  The controversial governor has also signed a bill eliminating discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in grades kindergarten through three, and is currently pushing legislation that would require teachers to use pronouns matching a student’s gender at the time of their birth.
 
In clicking through the list of legislation that Florida seems to be using to target specific groups – at the direction of the governor - Congressman Frost went straight for the “F” word.  He told Acosta:
 

“We have to call it for what it is.  He is abusing his power and using the state to target political opponents and political enemies.   And there’s a word for that, and it’s fascism, and we have o be honest about it.”

Congressman Frost noted that currently Ron DeSantis is primarily a Florida problem, but he also warned that DeSantis could soon become a problem for the entire nation.
 
Forewarned is forearmed – or at least it should be!