I saw a bumper sticker recently that I could see slapping on my car if I were the type to use bumper stickers:
Right on! Let’s get rid of the Big Lie, up is down, over is under, right-wing politicians making up a bunch of nonsensical propaganda so they can keep their fascist dreams alive and distract the rest of us from their criminal activities.
And then I looked closely at the other bumper stickers on the car in question.
- Calvin from “Calvin and Hobbes” peeing on Biden and Harris
- A “Fuck Biden” sticker
- An anti-socialism sticker (Because ya gotta own the snowflake libs by being anti-socialism … just ask Mitch “I’m not gonna allow any legislation through because I’m not working with the Democrats” McConnell.)
That’s curious, I thought. Does the driver of the car understand the Orwell bumper sticker?
George Orwell’s classic novel “1984” was a blaring literary siren warning against the dangers of fascism. All of the other stickers on the car seemed to indicate the driver was pro-the former President, who makes no bones about his love of fascism.
Perhaps the driver thinks liberals or Democrats are fascists?
Could the propaganda machine have so twisted the meaning of fascism in this guy’s mind that he doesn’t recognize who is actually being fascistic?
If so, that’s some major Orwellian doublespeak at work there.
Whenever we’re talking about complex systems that get boiled down to a single word, I like to look up the definition to remind myself what it’s supposed to be. That helps me cut through the baloney propagandists try to sow among the population.
The definition of fascism according to Merriam-Webster: a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition
We need look no further than the 250+ bills that Republicans have introduced in 43 states this year to put restrictions on voting. Through these bills, they are attempting to suppress the opposition in order to maintain power that they are unwilling to share. Democrats, on the other hand, have been working to make voting easier by introducing hundreds of their own bills to increase access to the polls.
Who, then, is the fascist?
If you think it’s the Democrats, you’ve fallen for doublespeak. (If you’re still not convinced, check out the study linked in this CNN article that shows how the Republican party has fallen further into authoritarianism.)
Maybe you should take to heart the bumper sticker that says “Make Orwell Fiction Again” and yank the rest of the stickers off your car.