Fascism.
The word itself conjures up mental images of symbols of hatred and violence. Images of World Wars, goose-stepping armies marching through the streets, and the untold horrors of concentration camps are what we picture.
While there is plenty of war and horror in our world today, it’s clear that the word fascism is currently being overused and misused in our current circumstances here in the US. Potent images that call Mussolini and Hitler from the recesses of our memories are exactly what create the power behind the current (mis)use of the word.
Make no mistake. That misuse is intentional.
This week in America, the “ladies” on The View - and literally thousands of political and Twitter personalities - expressed loud accusations that “fascist” oppressors were at the gate and that we better hurry to hide behind the tombstones in hopes that our families might escape their imminent fascist wrath. Accusations of far-right authoritarianism and dictatorial leadership from an autocratic government were shouted from the virtual megaphones of feminists and leftists.
What created the ardent warning calls that statist powers of oppression and impending doom were at hand? Was it that the President and his minions have repeatedly called for American employees to be discriminated against for their medical status and/or religious convictions?
No.
Was it the fact that millions of American workers cannot go to work (even remotely), apply for a new job or enter some workplaces without first certifying their governmental-issued shot record for a virus that they’ve already recovered from?
No.
Was it that millions of small children lost years of their tiny lives and forfeited their ability for normal speech and social development due to the politically driven overreaction to COVID-19?
No.
Was it those governmental policies of forced isolation that have exacerbated mental health issues for teenagers or that teen drug use and suicide have exploded into a full-blown crisis in America?
No.
Was it that they were finally calling attention to the fact that “authorities” denying people the ability to travel and eat in restaurants without proof of medical status is both immoral and a complete governmental overreach into the right to privacy?
Nope. Not that either.
It’s about the possible judicial overturn of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 abortion decision that (wrongly) said that a woman’s right to medical privacy overrides her child’s right to life.
That’s right. The people who argued that if you didn’t wear a (useless) mask or stand six feet apart from others; that you shouldn’t be able to have Thanksgiving, be near your parents; that you can’t say goodbye to your grandparents before they died; are now arguing for the right to medical privacy. The people who still demand that you get a series of shots that might harm you personally and that you be required to show proof of your compliance to their demands in order to participate in society have decided to argue against statism.
Yes, the people who have literally just finished (are they even finished?) their promotion and defense of 788 days to flatten the curve, including oppressive governmental lockdowns, forced isolation and mandated closures, are now sounding the alarm that fascist governmental overreach is just around the river bend.
With a straight face, those who have spent the last two years looking to China for advice on how to handle a pandemic are suddenly worried about governmental forces having too much authority. The ones who embraced governmental public health authorities and rejected experienced medical opinions of all others are now concerned with preserving the patient/doctor relationship. Those who have spent every ounce of their political capital by stepping between Americans and their doctors are now demanding that the government stay out of their exam room.
Strange. When that argument was made regarding COVID-19 treatments, the doctors trying to save their patients’ lives without governmental interference were reported to governmental authorities and vilified. Some doctors are still fighting to retain their medical licenses … for saving people’s lives by using different methods than what the government deemed as “correct.”
In fact, millions of sick Americans were forced to avoid hospitals in order to reject mandated governmental enforcement of certain medicines and medical procedures. Many Americans died due to intentional political rationing of treatments, therapies, and medicines. That rationing and control was truly the height of medical fascism since the inception of fascism.
But this time it wasn’t Mussolini; it was Mr. Science himself.
Perhaps Mr. Science hasn’t been in an ultrasound room lately, but our ability to see inside the womb has greatly improved even in the past 20 years, much less the past 50. The previously accepted “clump of cells” argument sounds about as crazy as the use of leeches to fight a cold or the use of whiskey and a piece of leather to dull the pain in the OR. The viability needle has also moved and continues to move as science advances.
But none of those discussions of scientific advances or increased understanding of pregnancy have made it to the talk show circuit. No, the immediate reaction from leftists is to accuse the court of being right-wing nuts, dressing as fictionally oppressed TV characters and holding signs that say things like “my body, my choice.”
My body, my choice. Novel idea. Haven’t heard that one in at least two years. Maybe it was the taxpayer-paid (dare I say “fascist?”) propaganda emanating from my TV all hours of the day for the past 800 days that had our country in a trance.
We’re all in this together, right?
Stephanie Holden Smith is an experienced policy analyst, political commentator, and public speaker. Smith has worked and volunteered in Governmental Affairs in Alabama since 1997, including lobbying for a Fortune 500 company and serving as Deputy Director of Finance for the State of Alabama. She is currently the principal of Thatcher Coalition LLC. To contact Stephanie, please go to http://thatchercoalition.com. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information Commentary@1819News.com.
