Fascism and Authoritarianism are words that are now being thrown around to describe the administration of the current president of the US. I had a lengthy conversation with my parents regarding this matter, and though they are not experts on fascism and authoritarianism, they did live under dictatorship/authoritarianism in the Philippines for 16 years. Not only that, they joined the underground opposition and fought bravely against the dictatorship , until Dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his family were kicked out of the country in 1986 through the People Power Revolution. As the cliché goes, been there, done that.
So, I asked my parents, “are we there yet ?” Their verdict : NO, because luckily, check and balances are firmly entrenched in American democracy. However, there are hints that POTUS is trying to undermine the powers of the Legislative and Judiciary, especially that of the Legislative by bamboozling the members to rubber stamp the laws he wants passed, doing away with the ethics commitees , or asking the Department of Justice officials investigating him, ” Are you on my team ? ” If not, you’re fired. ( Notice to non- American readers….. POTUS means President of the United States.)
What then is Authoritarianism ? Simply defined, it is a government where power is centralized in one leader. It is safe to assume that the leader or president can pretty much do whatever he or she likes, with no constitutional accountability.
POTUS is indeed corrupt, morally bankrupt, shamelessly unethical, but, to his credit, he is not authoritarian. Not yet, anyway.
Going by the definition of Fascism, POTUS is not a Fascist, either , and though there are signs of fascism , my parents think there is no chance he will ever be one.
What is Fascism ? This form of government was started by Benito Mussolini in Italy. His right – wing authoritarian government , supported by armed militia called ” blackshirts ” ( similar to Hitler’s brownshirts ) was , unfortunately, also supported by grassroots movements ( peasants, urban poor, even the middle class ) that turned violent on those who were caught in the middle. So what are these signs of fascism that my parents are hinting at ? This administration is , without a doubt, a right- wing government, and by all accounts, is being supported by people of the ” white supremacist ” types as Neo- Nazis, the Klan, anti- immigrants , anti- gays, and , despite POTUS’ un-Christian values and behavior, has an unwavering support of Evangelicals. It is, however, these white supremacist groups ‘ predilection for violence ( they openly carry high powered weapons at their rallies ) and this president’s public call to ” take care ” of those who protest at his rallies ( ” don’t worry, I’ll pay for your lawyers ” ) that we should pay attention to. It is akin to Philippine Dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ military knocking on doors of anti-Marcos people in the middle of the night and taking them away , never to be seen again. Filipinos called this ” salvaging “. ( my parents had to ” hide ” at one point ) . It is fascism when there are political human rights violations perpetrated by the powers-that be. Though it is unfair and inaccurate to compare POTUS to Philippine President Marcos, the image of the white supremacy rally at Charlottesville nevertheless has a chilling effect on my parents’ sensibility.
There is one ” ism” that I have not heard of that can very well describe this presidency. It’s called Populism. What is Populism? According to Wikipedia, it is a political philosophy supporting the rights and powers of the people in their struggle against a privileged elite. This definition seems to describe the political philosophy of the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party is also about Social Security, clean air and water, protection of the environment, affordable health care, protection of workers , LBGTQ rights, etc. But for decades, the Republicans have been spreading false narratives that the Democratic Party is all about unfeterred immigration, ( code for brown skinned immigrants who are rapists , criminals, Musim terrorists ) dole-outs, welfare ,( code for African -Americans ) , coddling the ” lazy ” poor, ” they will take away your guns” thing and free stuff. POTUS is able to articulate what has been festering on everyone’s mind in a straight, politically incorrect, and brash manner.
Populism is not only a political philosophy, but is more a rhetorical style wherein Potus, in his demagoguery and rhetorics, clearly divides the citizens between the elite and the masses….. the elite are the liberal academe/ inteligencia/ bleeding heart Democrats/ the OTHER, ( either non-white or non- Christian ) and the masses are those who don’t fit into the former category (and that includes the rich and Wall Street ) POTUS speeches have endeared him to racists , to those who fear the surge in immigration and increase in foreign -born citizens who don’t share the true American value, and to white, ” hard- working ” blue -collar workers who are traditionally Democrats, but who now feel the party has either forgotten them, or they’ve been put on the back burner, only to be called upon during election time.
So, what exactly is the president of the U.S.?
After a long discussion with my parents , I am of the opinion that the current President of the United States is a POPULIST.
This is all for now. Peace and stay cool. And thank you for reading.
Bye !
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Am a Molecular Microbiology student, love to read books, and I play the violin. 
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