Don’t mourn, fight – CounterPunch.org

Photo by Nathaniel St. Clair.

I am far from saying that the US government is democratic. In my understanding, capitalism prevents true democracy due to the influence of money on elections and other elements of the political system. This is especially true in the current monopoly phase of capitalism, which we call neoliberalism. Just ask Elon Musk, the Trump billionaire who wants to launch his austerity agenda. The power of his wallet was a deciding factor in the final weeks of Trump’s re-election campaign. This will continue until the printing presses that print money stop printing and the engines that power cryptocurrency melt the ice caps. In the minds of the super-rich, the US government is just another subsidiary and the people are employees, clients and suckers.

I’m not going to spend much time here trying to assess why Harris lost the election. There are others who are more adept at this, including CounterPunch editor Jeffrey St. Clair. I will state that, as far as I understand, the fundamental reasons for Trump’s victory are misogyny, racism and the ignorance that fuels these phenomena. As any honest observer can tell you, neither phenomenon is limited to a particular class or region of the country, but it seems fair to say that there are pockets of the population in the South and Midwest in which similar sentiments may be present among a majority of voters.

There is no easy way to defeat fascism in the context of a capitalist economy and bourgeois electoral system.

You can’t sit in your living room and swear in front of the TV and hope it will go away. As history clearly shows, the fascists will not stop until they are stopped by the forces opposing them.

This fact means organization.

It means getting off your butt and going outside.

This means not compromising with those in your union, your church and your community who promote fascist agendas of austerity and division.

If (or perhaps I should say when) ICE comes to your town and starts rounding up immigrants for deportation, no one will be able to look away because this is not happening to their family.

When women are denied reproductive choice and threatened with imprisonment for asserting their right to that choice, there must be no compromise with the authorities who lock these women away.

When Medicaid and other government subsidies for health care are cut, leaving people without health care, you can’t just be glad it’s not them. These are just a few examples of when and where to counter programs that will almost certainly be implemented in the coming months.

There will be those who will argue that Trump is not so bad. They are lying. One only needs to look at his vice president (who has become almost invisible in the final weeks of the campaign) to understand the true agenda of the Trumpist government. Although House leadership is in limbo as of this writing, the United States is extremely close to one-party rule. From the Supreme Court to the White House, the right wing is in control. If the House of Representatives switches to the Republican Party, we will live in a one-party state. I do not hesitate at all when I call this a fascist regime. I don’t think the reader should either. This describes the forces of the opposition. The current crisis of capitalism requires an authoritarian government. We understand that our future requires the dismantling of this government.

It’s time to take a chance. To put your body on the line. Go outside and make noise. Make some noise if the situation requires it. To anger the fascists.

Don’t mourn, organize.