I grew up in the peaceful suburbia rules-based 1950s. But America has said goodbye to that “Happy Days” era. Today our globally connected world is upside down, with increasingly unequal societies and the fear of terrorism. However, we must not revisit past mistakes.
In the 1930s, fascism was the backlash against dysfunctional democracies. It invited belief in leadership of the strongman. Adolf Hitler was the voice that represented change, but he brought disorder and the disruption of social norms. At rallies, he blamed the county’s decline on a weak government victimized by foreign powers and immigrants.
To cheering crowds, the skilled communicator promised he, alone, could set things right. He stood against the great tide of so-called inferior races that lived among them. His religion, an extreme form of nationalism, created a hate-filled collective hysteria that turned his followers against outsiders, from within or across their borders.
The red-faced bully blurred the lines between fact and fiction, while demanding disbelief in the very existence of truth. His currency was alternative facts and wildly exaggerated claims. He referred to the lying press, and his followers cast skepticism aside and embraced a kind of mass hypnosis that no force could counter.
