UK politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
3 days agoThe impossible promise: are we witnessing the return of fascism?
Politics is fundamentally driven by emotion, influencing judgments and trust in leaders.
Dehumanization, as a psychological and socio-political process, represents one of the most destructive phenomena in human history. It involves the denial of attributes that define individuals or social groups as human, thereby devaluing their moral status and legitimizing violence and cruelty against them.
For one thing, there were too many elements of classical fascism that didn't seem to fit. For another, the term has been overused to the point of meaninglessness, especially by left-leaning types who call you a fascist if you oppose abortion or affirmative action. For yet another, the term is hazily defined, even by its adherents. From the beginning, fascism has been an incoherent doctrine, and even today scholars can't agree on its definition. Italy's original version differed from Germany's, which differed from Spain's.
Jeremy Carl, President Donald Trump's pick for a top State Department post, sputtered through his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday when challenged by a senator who characterized him as a legit white nationalist. Carl is a senior fellow at the conservative Claremont Institute, who has made incendiary statements about Jews, women, race and the great replacement theory that suggests white Americans are being replaced by immigrants in the work force, according to The Washington Post.
Work crews used cherry pickers to erect the Make America Safe Again banner featuring Trump's portrait on Thursday. Ken Dilanian with MS NOW posted, This is a stunning confirmation of the grim reality, which is that Donald Trump has seized control of the once independent Justice Department and is using it to pursue his political objectivesincluding trying to punish his perceived enemies.
On a gray Friday afternoon in Washington, D.C., with the nation's capital bracing for a forecast snowstorm expected to arrive Sunday and local officials urging residents to prepare for possible disruptions, Vice President JD Vance stood on a stage near the National Mall and delivered a blistering address attacking abortion rights and LGBTQ+ equality as existential threats to the nation.