By way of Steve M.
“Il Duce” and “Der Fuhrer,” the titles respectively of
Mussolini and Hitler, translate to English as “The Leader.”
They signify the role of the head of the fascist
party, of the fascist movement, of the fascist nation, and of each and every
organization and individual within it.
Both Mussolini and Hitler had another title as head of
government – neither was head of state – of his respective country, equivalent
to the English title Prime Minister.
But each aspired to and in fact played a role in the life of
his country far more powerful and far more far-reaching, and more totalitarian,
than that.
The president of the United States, who is both head of
government and head of state, while leader of his party, is much less potent as
such than either Mussolini or Hitler were.
And the president is most certainly not the leader of a
movement or of our nation, much less the leader of each and every organization
and individual within it.
He is, of course, the commander in chief of our armed
forces.
But that is not the relationship Hitler, say, had with his military, a military that swore personal loyalty and obedience to him, not to the German state.
Anyway, whenever we are at war, those who favor the war
always go in for fascist rhetoric and, actually, fascist lies about the nature of
the president’s role.
Likewise, when we are not at war, those who want us to get
into one do much the same thing.
And, as in the present case, propaganda for the opposition
party regularly denigrates the sitting president as not suitable for, or playing badly,
the fascist role of Leader that is not his in any case.
[Update, later that same day.]
Of course, the lawlessness, the absolutism of fascist rule was far from new.
It was as old as despotism, as old as tyranny.
The novelty was the aspiration to extend and make genuinely felt such absolute power in every area and aspect of life, by every institution, organization, and individual.
So that everyone, every day, in every part of his life felt the firm, controlling hand of The Leader.
[Update 2, same day.]
America is not a nation but a country, a place organized as a sovereign political unity.
There is an American people but there is not, and they [we] are not, an American nation.
American patriotism, chauvinism, and jingoism exist.
But not American nationalism.
We lack the forms of unity that make a nation, especially the unity of blood.
But the forms of unity that bind the people of a country do not require that, however troublesome in practice may be the very disunities by reason of which we are not a nation.
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