Leave it to Hillsdale College to get even us out-of-school-foreverers in touch with current issues like space mining, AI, and degrees of "authority", all in the spirit of freedom, liberty, and being authorities on being American.
I actually get up around 5am and spent a couple hours a couple days ago reviewing thoughts and materials on totalitarianism and what appears to be an amassing Asian army of automation that's, at least threatening to, kick our asses! Of course, educators stay calm and just like warriors, they don't emphasize the ass-kicking. Even stuffy academic types can slide into a seat on the side of Victory that way. At least we tried; keep a stiff upper lip.
I plowed through graphic novel style video after video attending the topics. Less propaganda and plotted story than raw data at this point. Albeit the data is coated (and coded) into what feels like an introduction to someone's inner Dali. Or maybe it's the outwardly passed invitation to play Star Wars. Either way, these topics are a far cry from any kind of "normal" like country music and grocery shopping normal.
At one point in reading Passmore's Fascism in page after page of sordid details of history a phrase comes up that was the "landbridge" in a human race gone violent on themselves and others. The phrase is: shared enemy.
Of course, before activity it is difficult to identify both ally and adversary. And humans often saunter onto a spectrum of "interest" and ambiguity. We hear a lot of that in the general news from some people still claiming "objectivity". And yet, the 2024 presidenial elections proved that a core of Americans are pushing selves to make decisions, use discernment, uphold law (not a given in the history of choice), and rally as a right/correct side.
A lot of people on all sides are monitoring situation especially for hate crime and corruption and for any kind of monster that might suck us into being "indecent". And so those thick, sinewy ethical debates are steeping.
I myself fell into a deep sleep by midafternoon under the weight of implications for the shared future of the planet. My truck is broke down near a family-friendly truck stop and I woke up arguing (maybe with a robot) that WE DID COMBINE COMPUTERS WITH MECHANICS. No one said anything because I was in the truck alone.
Back to Passmore.
Fascists do not treat all inhabitants of the territory as citizens.
Fascists do not consider all human beings to be possessed of equal rights.
"Citizenship and its benefits are accorded or denied on the basis of conformity to, or possession of, characteristics alleged to be 'national', be they biological, cultural, religious, or political. Nationalism and racism pervade all aspects of fascist practice, from welfare provision and family policy to diplomacy. Those deemed to be outside the nation face an uncertain future--extermination in the worst case'" (108).
Passmore makes clear a distinction between historic fascists and contemporary national-populists (reluctant to call themselves racists; "no one who pretends to be decent can adopt the label").
Most people I know who voted for Trump may have some bitterness about failed US Gov't policy and inconsistent practice that was harsh to working people, but....unlike historic fascists (open about the superiority of their nation; happily used the category "race") these are people who pine for us to be prosperous, healthy, and functioning.
For me, the prosperous, healthy, and functioning has been impeded by a drive (perhaps necessary) to be combative and in war mode. And we ourselves are seemingly bridgeless between the links on a spectrum of cooperation....competition. I, myself, want the President and his administration to help us all succeed, and to be successful in his lifewalk everyday, America first.
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