This cartoon from the Washington Post’s Ann Telnaes perfectly frames the disconnect between what the people who we honor on Memorial Day fought for and what those in the MAGA world hold dear.
Telnaes is absolutely right.
The fallen who bravely fought the forces of evil and oppression around the world and in this country would be shocked that there is a sizable portion of the public and in elected office that thinks the MAGA extremist authoritarian and fascist attributes of burning books, denying and distorting history and science, suppressing the right to vote, repressing reproductive freedom, and discriminating against minorities is preferable to the Democratic and Republic values of majority rule, civil liberties, social justice, and reality.
When people honor those who paid the ultimate price for this country, think of the true American values they fought for. Those are the values that made this country the City on the Hill and the beacon our grandparents and great-grandparents made the journey for to create better lives for themselves and their descendants.
The values the MAGA Extremist fringe hold should be shunned and defeated at the ballot box.
The people who fought for the United States gave their lives so we the people could have the freedom to do just that and create a better society where people are lifted up and humanity moves forward.
Remember that when it is time to vote in 2023, 2024, and beyond.
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Here is a fascinating US Army document from 1945 used to explain fascism to GIs wondering why they were being asked to go into harms way.
https://archive.org/details/ArmyTalkOrientationFactSheet64-Fascism/page/n3/mode/2up
I liked the concise explanation: “Fascism is the precise opposite of democracy. People run democratic governments, but fascist governments run the people.” Sounds suspiciously like today’s republican party.
If you want a copy that’s a bit easier to read, I cleaned it up and uploaded here:
https://drive.proton.me/urls/8QWEHZ8B4G#ZgSlEUdkerJb
You’ll have to email me for a password and the link is only good for 1 week as I don’t like to leave my storage exposed too long.
My Dad was in the 442nd RCT “Go for Broke” Nisei regiment during WWII. He and thousands like him enlisted days shortly after Pearl Harbor to “Prove their loyalty to the US.” Many enlisted directly from American concentration camps in godforsaken places like Poston, AZ while their families and friends continued to languish in captivity. So, yeah, defeating fascism means something to many of us.