“Better to be a dog in times of tranquility than a human in times of chaos,” says an old Chinese proverb. These are indeed times of chaos, but there are also signs of hope.
While President Donald Trump sends National Guard troops to Los Angeles against the wishes of the city’s mayor and the state’s governor, and while the president claims to support police officers but pardons MAGA mobsters who attacked cops on Capitol Hill during the infamous Jan. 6, 2021 riot, the American political scene seems dominated by chaos and devoid of tranquility.
The chaos and tragedy of political assassination came to Minnesota on June 14. A 57-year-old gunman named Vance Boelter has been charged with killing a Minnesota state legislator and her husband, and wounding another Minnesota lawmaker and his wife. The murder suspect had made a hit list with the names of dozens of Democratic politicians, as well as names of abortion providers in the state. After a police manhunt—the biggest in Minnesota’s history—Boelter was soon captured by law enforcement officers. He now sits in jail awaiting trial and sentencing for multiple charges, including murder.
In an Associated Press news story published two days after the shootings, friends and former co-workers interviewed by the AP characterized the accused assassin as “a devout Christian who attended an evangelical church and went to campaign rallies for President Donald Trump.” Boelter probably won’t be attending any more Trump rallies. Federal prosecutors may push for the death penalty, and state authorities are seeking murder charges against the accused killer. Either way, the “devout Christian” may have plenty of time to consider the Biblical commandment against murder and the advice that Jesus gave about treating others as we would like to be treated.
The killings in Minnesota sparked outrage across the country. Here in Georgia on June 14, Rep. Spencer Frye, who represents the Athens area in the state legislature in Atlanta, issued a fiery statement in the wake of the Minnesota murders. “The United States is poised on the brink of totalitarianism, and we’ve been dragged here by a lawless and fascist Republican administration,” he wrote. “Some may call my words divisive. But I am only bringing truth to light.”
Lawlessness and fascism are on the march in America and around the world. The June 14 political murders and shootings are only the latest manifestation of what the father of fascism, Benito Mussolini, meant when he said, “It is blood which moves the wheels of history.” Mussolini also called fascism “the marriage of corporation and state.” Here in the United States and in many nations around the globe, fascism is resurfacing as a monstrous mixture of governmental overreach, corporate power and right-wing religious fundamentalism.
Martyred Chilean poet Victor Jara, who was killed during the fascist regime of South American dictator Augusto Pinochet, wrote words more than 50 years ago that still apply today: “How terrifying are the faces of the fascisti. For them, blood is a medal and carnage is a heroic gesture.” Americans may see more blood and carnage in the days, months and years ahead, according to a report released last fall by the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism.
According to the ADL, activities by antisemitic and white supremacist groups are on the rise across this nation that calls itself the land of the free. The Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors U.S. hate groups, agreed. “These neo-Nazi groups, these white supremacist groups are desperate for attention,” said Jeff Tischauser of the SPLC.
The jackboot of fascism and the iron fist of authoritarianism exist at home and abroad, but there are signs of hope on the political landscape. Across America on June 14, millions of citizens rallied against the Republican Reich of Donald Trump. Right here in Athens, downtown’s College Square was packed with citizens who came out to challenge authoritarianism and celebrate liberty during a spirited and patriotic gathering. The scene was repeated in big cities, small towns, college campuses and rural hamlets all over this sprawling republic.
Americans resisted fascism in World War II, and Americans resisted fascism on June 14. As writer Alexander Pope said, “Hope springs eternal.”
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